2023 New York Antiquarian Book Fair
63rd New York International Antiquarian Book Fair
Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Avenue, New York
Booth B1
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1Probably the fourth or fifth oldest witness to the Gospel of Matthew in the text of the Latin VulgateSixth century uncial fragment of the Vulgate, Matthew 6.22-28, 8.8-16.Italy, mid-6th century CE.
InquireTwo fragments forming one of the earliest known Vulgate manuscripts for the Gospel of St Matthew, probably the fourth or fifth oldest, written only two centuries after St Jerome had prepared the Vulgate New Testament, from the original Greek, at the commission of Pope Damasus I.
Early copies of the Vulgate translation are surprisingly rare: …
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2The earliest witness, copied during the author's lifetime from his lost autographKitab al-furuq [The Book of Legal Distinctions].Egypt or Syria, 20 Oct. 1173 CE = 11 Rabi' al-awwal 569 H.
InquireThe earliest surviving textual witness, copied during the author's lifetime from his lost autograph, of what is the first and still the most popular Hanafi text on legal distinctions: the "Kitab al-furuq" by Abu al-Muzaffar As'ad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Husayn al-Nisaburi al-Karabisi al-Hanafi (d. 1174/75). Composed in the 6th century AH, most likely …
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3English Bible ManuscriptLatin manuscript on vellum.Northern France or England?, ca 1300 CE.
€ 145,000.00A beautiful, complete medieval Bible written in a miniscule bookhand on extremely delicate vellum, probably copied in England or commissioned from there. As is common, the Bible is prefaced with the epistle of St Jerome to Paulinus (53: "Frater Ambrosius [...] moriturum", fols. 1r-3r), followed by Jerome's prologue to the Pentateuch ("Desiderii mei …
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4Splendidly illuminated Northern French Book of Hours on vellum[Liber horarum - Use of Rouen].Rouen, ca. 1480 last quarter of the 15th century CE.
€ 65,000.00Splendidly illuminated Northern French Book of Hours on vellum. The nearly full-page miniatures (ca. 110 x 80 mm) show extended landscapes as well as interiors, comprising: fol. 14r, Annunciation (at the beginning of the matin of the Office of Mary); fol. 20r, Visitation (Lauds); fol. 26r, Crucifixion (Hours of the Cross); fol. 27r, Pentecost (Hours …
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5A 15th century medical manual, used by a 16th century surgeon"Ein bewert artzini bochelein". Medical manual and recipe book.Germany, 15th and early 16th century.
€ 24,000.00Unpublished German therapeutic manual containing a comprehensive body of recipes, owned by a 16th century German gallstone surgeon.
The main part of the manuscript, which paleographial evidence places as early as the 15th century, begins on folio 44r and comprises some 120 closely written leaves in a single hand, entitled: "her noch volget …
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6The Cuccaro branch of the Columbus familyThe personal archive of Luigi Colombo di Cuccaro (1790-1871).Mostly Montferrat and Castagnole near Genoa, Italy, 15th to 19th century.
€ 48,000.00A substantial Northern Italian dynastic archive assembled over five centuries, centred around an exquisite collection of early genealogical trees and charters as well as excessively rare printed material from the late 16th and early 17th centuries. As early as the 16th century, the Colombo di Cuccaro dynasty sought to align its ancient origins with …
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7Splendid vellum manuscript by Jean Coene, replete with illuminations of female saints, probably commissioned by a Paris nunneryLatin manuscript on vellum.Northern France, ca. 1500.
€ 185,000.00An uncommonly painstakingly prepared liturgical manuscript with remarkable illumination by the Parisian artist Jean Coene IV, known as the "Master of the Paris Entrances", probably commissioned for a nuns' order. Apart from the hundreds of initials, painted on gilt background and mostly decorated with flowers, berries, and leaves, the manuscript …
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8An outstanding Flemish Book of Hours with 14 high-quality illuminationsBook of Hours (use of Rome).Southern Netherlands, probably Ghent, ca. 1500.
€ 150,000.00An outstanding, unpublished Book of Hours, produced around the year 1500, at the apogee of Flemish book illumination. The quality of illumination is remarkable, both in the borders and the full-page miniatures. The execution is neat and flawless.
At least three different miniaturists worked on the illumination cycle of this precious Book of …
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9An early manuscript witness to the Rosarium philosophorum, compiled by the alchemist Michael CochemCompilation of alchemical texts, including the Rosarium philosophorum.Austria, possibly Schwaz, 1529 and 1646.
€ 48,000.00This fascinating alchemical miscellany, compiled by the Tyrolean alchemist and humanist Michael Cochem in 1529, includes the earliest dated manuscript witness to the famous Rosarium philosophorum, an alchemical florilegium that was falsely attributed to the medieval physician Arnaldus de Villanova (ca. 1240-1311).
The compendium comprises: …
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10Juz 19 of a mid-sixteenth century Chinese Qur'anAn illuminated Qur'an, Juz' XIX.China, April 1546 CE = Safar 953 H.
InquireVery early Qur'an Juz (one of thirty parts of varying lengths into which the Qur'an is divided) written in 16th century China.
Arab presence in China dates back as far as the first Caliphate: the Prophet's companion Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas is traditionally credited with introducing Islam to China as ambassador in 650. Indeed, many major cities …
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11A letter from Pope Pius V to Charles IX during the French Wars of ReligionAutograph letter signed ("Pius PP Vs").Rome, 2 Aug 1569.
€ 45,000.00Rare letter to King Charles IX of France, referring to a previous audience of Charles's ambassador to the Holy See, Charles d'Angennes de Rambouillet, archbishop of Mans. The topic of the long audience had been the "preservation" of unspecified help that the Pope "willingly brought to the King", most likely reinforcements to the Catholic army in …
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12On astronomy and the planetary motionsAl-Tuhfat al-Shahiyya fi'l Hay'ah [The Gift to the Shah on Astronomy].Tabriz, 1583/84 CE = Dhu'l-Hijja 991 H.
€ 65,000.00An early, well-illustrated copy of the "Gift to the Shah on Astronomy", by Qutb al-Din Mahmud b. Mas'ud b. Muslih Al-Shirazi (1236-1311), on astronomy and the planetary motions. Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi completed this work in 1285 in Sivas and dedicated it to Taj al-Din Mu'tazz bin Tahir, the vizier of Amir-Shah Muhammad bin al-Sadr al-Sa'id (cf. IRCICA, …
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13Medical recipes, arcane cures, Renaissance hippiatry, gold panning in Bohemia[Medical manuscript]. Artznei Buch. 1590. Opusculum non magnarum, sed necessarium …Germany, 1590.
€ 12,500.00A wide-ranging compilation of medicinal recipes and treatments for a great variety of ailments, certainly drawing on various medical and pharmacological texts, although only one specific reference is made, namely to Melchior Sebisch's 1580 translation of Charles Estienne's agricultural treatise "L'agriculture et maison rustique" (Paris 1564). A medicine …
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14Arabic manuscript of the Sphaerics, with geometric astronomical diagramsKitab al-ukar [Sphaerics].Central Asia, May/June 1592 CE = Sha'ban 1000 H.
€ 35,000.00A 16th century Arabic manuscript of the "Sphaerics" by the Greek astronomer and mathematician Theodosius of Bithynia (ca. 169-100 BCE). Unknown in the West during the Middle Ages, the "Sphaerics" proved instrumental in the restoration of Euclidean geometry to Western civilization when the book was brought back from the Islamic world during the crusades …
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15Rare Arabic original textManafi' al-hayawan [On the Usefulness of Animals].Medina, ca. 1600 / 16-17th century CE.
InquireVery prettily illustrated treatise on "the benefits of animals" composed in the 10th century by the Nestorian Abu Sa'id ibn Bakhtishu for the Abbasid Caliph al-Muttaqi (ruled 940-944), forming part of his larger work "Kitab al-Hawass mujarrab al-manafi'" (cf. Brockelmann). Derived from Aristotelian sources, it deals with the physical characteristics …
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16"Looking at zebra is good for the eyesight"Ikhtiyarat-i Badi'i [Selections for Badi'i].Central Asia, 1608 CE = 1017 H.
€ 16,000.00Very early 17th century manuscript of one of the most important books on diseases, pharmacology, and materia medica written in Persian in the Islamic era. Ansari Shirazi (1329-1403) was a famous physician of the Mughal period, serving as the personal physician to the Muzaffarid prince Sultan Jalal ud-Din Shah Shuja (1333-84), at whose court he would …
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17Seventeenth century mathematical commentary from CairoKitab al-Murshidah wa Sharhuh [The Book of the Guide with its commentary].Cairo, Ottoman Egypt, 28 May 1614 CE = 18 Rabi II 1023 H.
€ 35,000.00Commentary on a work by the Egyptian mathematician Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Ha'im (ca. 1352-1412), the "Murshidat al-talib ila asna al-matalib fi ilm al-hisab" ("A student's guide to the summit of learning on the science of mathematics"). Al-Ha'im is famous for his contributions to mathematics, especially in the field of early algebra. The author …
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18A 17th century guide to IstanbulDhikr awsaf shahr Istanbul [Description of the City of Istanbul].Ottoman Turkey, 1659/60 CE = 1070 H.
€ 28,000.00Historico-topographic description of the city of Istanbul, written and bound in an unusual tall chancery format. A fairly early example of the name "Istanbul" used as the common Turkish name of the time for Constantinople. Set out in four parts (pp. 71-159, 160-239, 240-295, 296-348), apparently lacking a 70-page first part but with the pretty lapislazuli …
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19The first land purchased by the City of New York in BrooklynDeed from William Morris and wife to the Corporation of New York. Signed …Breuckelen Brooklyn, Long Island, 12 Oct 1694.
€ 35,000.00Original deed of the first substantial purchase of land on the Brooklyn side of the East River ever made by the New York municipality, a purchase that was called by Henry E. Pierrepont (1808-88), director and historian of the Union Ferry Co., "the foundation of the claim of the City of New York to their land in Brooklyn" (23). After the capture of …
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20The first book about America by a Muslim - coloured copyTarikh-i Hind-i gharbi al-müsemma bi-Hadis-i nev [A History of the Western …Qustantaniyah Constantinople, Istanbul, April 1730 CE = mid-Ramazan 1142 H.
InquireRare first edition of this illustrated history of the New World in Ottoman Turkish: the first book published in Turkey to contain illustrations, the earliest book about the New World published in the Ottoman Empire, and one of the first titles printed by a Muslim in Turkey. The contemporary colouring of the woodcuts, which depict curious oddities, …
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21Undocumented work on chemistryAl-Durrah al-Yatimah [The Orphan Pearl on the Precious Art of Chemistry].No place Syria?, 20 Jan. 1756 CE = 17 Rabi II 1169 H.
€ 75,000.00Undocumented work on chemistry and alchemy, highly important for being expressly attributed to Jabir ibn Hayyan, the elusive father of Arabic chemistry.
The manuscript's title reads, in full, "The orphan pearl in knowing the craft of precious chemistry, composed by the virtuous sage and complete teacher, the master of the men of this craft, …
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22From the collection of Aloys Fuchs in ViennaAutograph musical manuscript.Bologna or Salzburg, July/August 1770 or later.
InquireA manuscript containing four complete canon compositions (each with theme and interpretation), as well as the theme of one other canon, all with autograph texts.
A three-part canon entitled "Canon ad duodecimam: clama ne cesses" on the first page, with counterpart, set to "Confitebor tibi Domine [...]", 8 bars. Below, titled "Canon ad diapente, …
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23The first Ottoman history of the Americas: manuscript from the collection of the Earl of GuilfordTarikh-i yeni dunya [History of the New World, or America and the Indies].Turkish or Ottoman Balkans, Nov./Dec. 1770 CE = Sha'ban 1184 H.
InquireA complete 18th century manuscript of what is famously the first Ottoman history of America. Composed by an unidentified Turkish author in the 1580s, the work is also known as "Tarikh-i Hind-i gharbi" ("History of the West Indies") and "Hadis-i nev". It enjoyed great popularity throughout the 16th and 17th centuries and was printed by Ibrahim Müteferrika …
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24Strikingly illuminated manuscript in classical ArmenianFour commentaries on King Solomon’s Song of Songs.Ejmiadzin, Armenia, 1787 CE.
€ 38,000.00A striking and finely illuminated compilation of commentaries on the Song of Songs, written in classical Armenian by the scribe, clerk, and notary Yohan Vagharshapatets’i for the patron Yakob (Hagop) vardapet. While it is a valuable piece of art in its own right, one of the manuscript's previous owners, revealed by an inscription, was Prince Georgy …
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25The 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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26To Friedrich Sebastian MayerAutograph letter signed ("Beethoven").Vienna, end of March 1806.
€ 95,000.00Instructions for the singer Friedrich Sebastian Mayer, who performed the role of Don Pizarro at the premiere of "Fidelio" (in the original première of 20 November 1805 as well as in that of the reworked version of 29 March 1806): "Hier der Ite Akt - diesen Abend den Zweiten - wo eigentlich nur wenige Veränderungen gemacht worden - sobald beyde …
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27A letter linking two of the most important female scientists of the 19th centuryAutograph letter signed.No place, 12 June, no year.
€ 6,500.00To Ada, Countess of Lovelace, Lord Byron's daughter, declining an invitation: "I have an engagement on the 22d otherwise I should have had much pleasure in dining with you that day".
The daughter of Vice-Admiral Sir William George Fairfax, Mary Somerville was related to several prominent Scottish houses through her mother, Margaret Charters. …
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28A large, lavishly illuminated manuscriptRamayana.Jaipur, Rajasthan, ca. 1825-50 / second quarter of the 19th century CE.
InquireA central text of Hinduism in a fine, large-format manuscript, lavishly illuminated in the typical "Jaipur" style such as was practised at the court of Jaipur in the 18th and early 19th century.
The Ramayana - "Rama's journey" - is one of India's oldest and most enduring stories. Since it was first told in the Sanskrit epic poem of Valmiki …
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29To the astronomer John HerschelAutograph letter signed.Paris, 8 Jul 1826.
€ 9,500.00To the astronomer John Herschel, thanking for his work with Charles Babbage, with a recommendation from the general and engineer Guillaume Piobert, who hopes to meet Herschel in England, and regretting that he has not yet received a copy of his new paper on electrodynamic phenomena ("Théorie des phénomènes électro-dynamiques [...]", Méquignon-Marvis, …
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30From the Abemayor collectionAl-madkhal fi al-jughrafiya [An Introduction to Geography].Ottoman Turkey, 1830/31 CE = Rajab 1246 H.
€ 12,500.00A text on astronomy, probably a risalah (treatise), composed during the reign of the reform-minded Sultan Mahmud II. The fine illustrations show the planets, northern and southern hemispheres, etc.
Binding a little rubbed and bumped at extremeties; insignificant stains to interior. Provenance: from the private collection of Michel E. Abemayor …
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31From the estate of Abel Hugo: with autographs by Lucrezia Borgia, Gaetano Donizetti, and Victor HugoA collection of three plays by Victor Hugo, including "Lucrèce Borgia", …Paris, 1832-1833.
€ 75,000.00A charming ensemble of three first editions of Victor Hugo's plays, each one inscribed by the author to his elder brother, the essayist and military writer Abel Hugo (1798-1855). When the set was auctioned at the sale of the library of the author's grandson Georges-Victor Hugo, it was acquired by Arthur Meyer, the director of the prestigious daily …
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32Two short piano works inspired by Polish folk musicAutograph musical manuscript of two short works for piano: "All[egre]tto" …No place, ca. 1832-1833.
€ 240,000.00Two short piano works inspired by Polish folk music. Kobylanska considers that whilst both works are signed by Chopin, they are too unsophisticated to be his own compositions, and are perhaps transcriptions of Polish folk tunes: "Beide Stücke sind zwar mit Ch signiert, in ihrer ganzen Art jedoch zu primitiv, als daß man sie für eigene Kompositionen …
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33Exceptionally rare offprintSposob uviersit'sia v izchezanii bezkonechnykh strok i priblizhat'sia k …Kazan, 1835.
€ 35,000.00First separate printing: exceptionally rare offprint of this important essay on the foundations of calculus and real analysis by the first inventor of non-Euclidean geometry. "As early as 1835, Lobachevsky showed in [this] memoir the necessity of distinguishing between continuity and differentiability" (Cajori).
Lobachevsky's works in other …
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34Persian romance based on Metiochus and ParthenopeMasnavi-i Vamiq va 'Azra [Metiochus and Parthenope].Persia, 19th century.
€ 18,000.00Lavishly illuminated Persian manuscript depicting the romance which came to define the love story in Western literature. Composed by Abu al-Qasim Hasan Unsuri (ca. 961-1039), the original Persian was in fact lost, and preserved in a Turkish translation. Unsuri's version was itself based on what was already an ancient love story in his own time, the …
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35The greatest work of Islamic medicineAl-Kitab al-Awwal min Kitab al-Qanun fi al-Tibb: Al-Kulliyat [Canon of …Persia, Nov. 1853 CE = Safar 1270 H.
InquireMid-19th century manuscript, written in Arabic in the Persian countries, of the first of the five books that form what is perhaps the most important medical text of the Middle Ages.
Ibn Sina's "Kitab al-Qanun fi'l-Tibb" ("Canon of Medicine"), hailed as "the most famous medical text ever written" (Garrison/M. 43), was widely translated throughout …
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36Khan-i-Karmani's treatise on calendars and the astrolabe in an exquisite bindingTwo treatises on astronomy: Khulasa al-taqwim (Summary of the Calendar) …Qajar Iran, July/August 1856 CE = Dhu'l-Qa'da 1270 H.
€ 45,000.00Finely rendered and beautifully bound work on astronomy and timekeeping by Haji Mirza Muhammad Karim Khan-i-Kirmani (1810-73). Karmani was a Shaykhi-Shia scholar, a distant cousin to Fath 'Ali Shah Qajar (1769-1834), and a 19th century polymath with mastery of a whole field of Islamic and philosophical sciences, including alchemy, medicine, optics …
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37Author's presentation copy: "for services rendered to good sanitary construction"Notes on Hospitals.London, 1863.
InquireAuthor's presentation copy of the third edition, inscribed on the day of publication to the influential London architect and journalist George Godwin (1813-88) on the title-page: "Geo. Godwin Esq. / in gratitude for the services he has / rendered to the cause of good / sanitary construction / Florence Nightingale / London, Dec. 14 1863".
When …
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38"Ouverture de David Rizzio". Autograph musical manuscript signed ("Georges …No place, probably ca. 1866.
€ 65,000.00Exceptionally rare, unpublished musical manuscript: Bizet's autograph orchestration of the overture to Hippolyte Rodrigues's opera "David Rizzio", about the historical courtier who was the private secretary and rumoured lover of Mary, Queen of Scots. In 1566 he was assassinated by her husband, the jealous Lord Darnley, and a conspiracy of Protestant …
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39Illustrated commentary on astronomical instrumentsSawanih al-qarihah fi sharh al-safihah fi 'ilm al-asturlab.Qom, Qajar Persia, ca. 1870 / 19th century CE.
InquireA commentary by Sayyid Abu Muhammad 'Abd Allah ibn Fakhr al-Din al-Husayni al-A'raj (d. 1775), known as Fakhri'zadah al-Mawsili, on the "Treatise on the Tympanum Concerning the Astrolabe" by the Levantine Arab polymath Baha' al-Din Muhammad ibn Husayn al-'Amili (1547-1621). Bahaddin 'Amili was one of the earliest astronomers in the Islamic world …
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40Unknown inscribed portrait for his brother AndreyPortrait photograph inscribed, dated and signed ("Fyodor").No place, 12 Oct 1879.
€ 85,000.00Fine head-and-shoulders portrait. The reverse bears an uncommonly personal three-line inscription to his brother, the architect Andrey Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (1825-97): "Dorogomu bratu / Andreju ot brata / Fedora 12 Oktob[ra] / 79" ("For my dear brother Andrey from his brother Fyodor, 12 October 1879").
Not listed in the census of Dostevsky's …
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41Manet's fashion accessoriesAutograph letter signed ("E. Manet") and illustrated with original watercolours.Bellevue, "jeudi" July 1880.
InquireTo the wife of his friend Jules Guillemet: an exceptional, unpublished letter illustrated with five watercolours showing little bags (which Manet called "pochettes") of various shapes and sizes, asking her to choose a model which he will then bring her from Paris: "Très bien choisie, la brioche. Je ne l’ai [pas] réussi [!] hier je la recommencerai …
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42Tom and Becky, lost in the cave, encounter Injun Joe: Clemens's manuscript notes for a projected stage version of "Tom Sawyer"[Tom Sawyer: A Play]. Autograph working notes.No place, probably late 1883 or early 1884.
€ 45,000.00Three leaves from Clemens’s manuscript notes for a never-performed stage version of "Tom Sawyer" completed in early 1884, featuring sketches for the dramatic scene in which Tom, Huck and Becky encounter Injun Joe in the cave. The notes read, in part: "Enter Tom & Huck. Find bag. 'No use now - got to starve.' Tom says 'No.' Examine - money all …
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43Presentation 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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44"Conférence de M. Eiffel sur la Tour de 300 mètres". Brochure with autograph …Paris, 1889.
€ 8,500.00Rare booklet for the conference on 20 February 1889, beautifully inscribed to a Belgian woman named Marguerite Cruyt, dated Paris, 4 April 1889. The partly lithographed letter from the secretariat of Gustave Eiffel was written in response to a request for Eiffel's signature by Marguerite Cruyt from 26 March 1889.
Stronger browning and several …
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45Prolifically 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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46Octagonal Qur'an in a fine Persian lacquer bindingIlluminated miniature octagonal Qur'an.Persia, ca. 1890 / 19th century CE.
€ 24,000.00A beautifully illuminated octagonal miniature Qur'an, uncommonly written on dark indigo blue paper. The meticulously hand-painted floral lacquer binding is characteristic of the 19th century Persian style. Stored in a custom-fitted sterling silver case, bottom punched "Silver" and "925", finely wrought with ornamental tendril designs. In excellent …
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47The earliest guide to MeccaFutuh al-Haramayn [Description of the Holy Cities].India or Persia, late 19th or early 20th century CE.
€ 35,000.00Monumental manuscript copy of the first Islamic guidebook for the pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, which Muhi al-Din Lari (d. 1526/27) completed in India in 1505/06. The book provides instructions on the Hajj pilgrimage rituals and descriptions of important sites that Muslim pilgrims can visit, including of the Kaaba in Mecca. Whilst no early illustrated …
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48"We also took along our magnetic needles and made a rough survey of the mine"Autograph letter signed ("TaE").No place, "Sunday" August 1901.
€ 25,000.00To his second wife Mina Miller, here called "Billy", about a strenuous field trip to Ontario to explore nickel reserves, involving an honorary reception by the city of Sudbury: "John writes you today & I assume tells you all about the trip in the woods - as I do not know what he told you I will recite all the events after you left. After the …
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49"fabrication de radium"Autograph letter signed.Paris, 27 Dec 1903.
€ 15,000.00To a colleague about financing his chair and a laboratory at the Sorbonne and the option of moving into a laboratory at the Pasteur Institute instead - an offer that he only wants to accept for an indefinite period: "Je désire vous tenir au courant de ce qui s'est fait relativement à la nouvelle chaire que l'on veut créer pour moi. Le Conseil …
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50Excavating Aphrodisias: two historically significant albums from the first archaeological campaignsTwo albums with 247 photographs, 1 postcard, and 4 building plans from …Aphrodisias, 1904-1905.
€ 125,000.00Extensive documentation of the first official archaeological excavation of Aphrodisias in the historic Caria region, now part of Anatolia, Turkey. The first album contains 199 photographs and the valuable plans, captioned "theatre", "quarries" (with parts of the city), "thermae", and "temple of Aphrodite converted to a Byzantine church; state of …
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51Funds for the Tesla employees' Thanksgiving turkeysAutograph letter signed ("N. Tesla"), together with photographic portrait.New York, 22 Nov 1909.
InquireTo Anita Drysdale Hawkins (1874-1957), an employee at his Wardenclyffe Tower plant in Shoreham, New York. Generous to the last, Tesla sends funds for his workers' salaries and to pay for their Thanksgiving turkeys. At this point, Tesla was deeply in debt and had turned to working on mechanical engineering projects so as to try and keep Wardenclyffe …
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52One 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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53"I was living in a state of mild masturbation at the Rennert"Autograph letter signed ("Ever Your Devoted Friend, Scott") and an autograph …Baltimore, 1932 and ca. 28 June 1920.
InquireRemarkable pairing of an ALS and an unsigned handwritten poem. The letter is written to his friend Tom Lineaweaver: "Had rather a run-in with your friend Davis - all my fault & yet unfortunate if it had any consequences. Leaving the Poes shortly after you, we went to a friend of his & from there called up Bryan Dancy. My idea was to drop …
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54"Ich wärme mich daran in diesem traurigen Winter"Eigenh. Brief mit U. ("K").Prag, Mitte November 1921.
InquireAn den mit ihm befreundeten angehenden Mediziner und ebenfalls an Tuberkulose erkrankten Robert Klopstock: "Lieber Robert, was sind Sie doch für ein Mensch! Fräulein Irene ist aufgenommen. Ein Mädchen, das in 26 Jahren (offenbar entsprechend ihren Anlagen) keine andere Kunstarbeit gemacht hat, als die schlechte Kopie einer schlechten Ansichtskarte, …
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55Invitation to dance for Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, and Marcel BreuerCollective letter with the signatures of 68 teachers and students of the …Weimar, 1923.
InquireTo the ballet dancers and choreographers Albert Burger and Elsa Hötzel in Stuttgart, who had, together with Oskar Schlemmer, conceived the famous "Triadisches Ballett" (Triadic Ballet), cordially inviting them to perform the piece on the occasion of the 1923 Bauhaus Week in Weimar: "Wir Bauhäusler möchten Sie so von ganzem Herzen bitten kommen …
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56"Fümms bö wö tää zää Uu": early Dada sound poem in original wrappersMerz 24. Ursonate.Hannover, 1932.
€ 15,000.00First edition, in the scarce original wrappers, of this seminal Dadaist sound poem by Kurt Schwitters (1887-1948), one of only 1000 copies. The "Ursonate", also known as "Sonate in Urlauten" and occasionally written in English as the "Ur-sonata", was composed in different versions between 1923 and 1932 and joined Schwitters's lifelong fascination …
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57An early letter, announcing an autumn visit to BelgiumAutograph postcard signed ("V. Nabokoff").Berlin, 5 August 1936.
€ 12,000.00To the Belgian writer Robert Mélot (ps. Mélot du Dy, 1891-1956), thanking for sending Mélot's book "Signes de vie" (Paris, Denoël et Steele, 1936) in which he added an autograph note to Nabokov. Nabokov lists his favourite poems of the book and announces a journey to Belgium in autumn: "Cher monsieur et ami, je vous remercie beaucoup pour vos …
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58For the Madison TrioTrio op. 2, Violin. Autograph musical manuscript signed ("Leonard Bernstein").No place, Oct.-Nov. 1936.
€ 22,000.00The violin voice of one of Bernstein's very earliest works, his "Trio" for piano, violin, and cello. Written for his friends Mildred Spiegel, Dorothy Rosenberg, and Sarah Kruskall (known as the "Madison Trio" for their initials), the piece was first performed by them at Harvard University in 1937, where Bernstein was then a student of music under …
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59Lucian Freud's first book illustrationPaul Among the Jews.London, 1943.
€ 3,500.00First edition. Preceding his illustrations for "The Glass Tower" (1944-45), Lucian Freud's jacket design for Werfel's play marks the first appearance of his work as book illustration. The entire design is his, including the elaborate lettering, whose intials seem unsettlingly to sprout roots and whiskers, and the squat bearded figure with two oversized …
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60Einstein and the Atomic Age: "And what is E=mc² without Einstein?"Copy of typewritten script of the episode "The Atom" of the TV programme …No place, May 1946.
InquireSigned by Albert Einstein in ink in the upper right corner of the first page: the original script of a 1946 NBC programme on "The Atom", which dramatises Einstein's discovery of the iconic E=mc² equation. A unique survival documenting the enormous popular interest in Einstein's achievements, especially his special theory of relativity and its relationship …
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61"I deeply feel what a difficult time you are having"Typed letter signed (“A. Einstein”).Princeton, 25 Jul 1946.
€ 9,500.00To Helene Katzenstein, the widow of Einstein's close friend and sometime sailing companion, the Berlin surgeon Moritz Katzenstein (1872-1932): "I deeply feel what a difficult time you are having under the present circumstances. And I shall gladly do anything to rescue you from this unsatisfactory and depressing situation. I myself have experienced …
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62"My ambition is to come back to Denver someday in a Buick convertible with a case of scotch": Jack Kerouac's friendship with Edward D. White Jr.Autograph letter signed (“Jack”).Marin City, CA, 16 Aug 1947.
€ 18,000.00The first full letter to his friend Edward D. White Jr. in Denver, informing him of his arrival in San Francisco, a new job as a guard, further plans and the conclusion of a "40,000-word screen story", very likely "Christmas in New York". In the summer of 1947, Kerouac spent three weeks with White, to whom he had been introduced by Hal Chase in New …
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63Signed and inscribedPortrait photograph inscribed and signed.No place, 1947.
€ 8,500.00Slight traces of mounting on verso.
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64"Vor allem möchte ich Ihnen gratulieren zu dem schönen mathematischen Fund"Typed letter signed with 8 autograph words inserted.Princeton, NJ, 5 Aug 1949.
€ 22,000.00To the German-American mathematician Ernst Gabor Straus. Einstein refers to a work he has just written in which he resolves the equations of the gravitational field issues from Bianchi's identities; he also congratulates Straus on a beautiful mathematical discovery and invokes by comparison the proof of transcendence of numbers that the latter had …
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65"Orwell a god DAMNED liar who chose to lie about me when I was down"Series of 48 letters, including 3 autograph letters signed, 1 autograph …Various places, 15 Dec. 1949 to 14 April 1954 and 23 June 1959.
InquireRemarkable series of forty-eight letters written in Pound's vernacular and idiosyncratic style, mainly to Raymond Hughes, secretary of Four Pages, with a few to Henry Swabey, editor of Four Pages, expressing his views on art, poetry, theatre, modern culture and contemporary civilisation, politics and economics. Pound discusses the works and ideas …
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66About Arthur Keith's "New Theory of Human Evolution" (London 1948)Autograph document signed.No place, ca. 1949.
€ 3,500.00A statement on Arthur Keith's "A New Theory of Human Evolution" (London, 1948): "It really is a theory of the evolution of ethics. It is quite sufficient to read two or three of the essays. They all say virtually the same. / Erwin".
In pencil.
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67With upside-down Thomas Jefferson postage stampAutograph postcard signed ("Bro Malcolm").Battle Creek, Michigan, 12 May 1955 postmark.
€ 17,500.00A note to Roy Munford and his family in Jersey City: "As Salaam Alaikum. Greetings from Battle Creek. This Teaching is fast-spreading every where".
On the verso is a photograph showing the entrance to the Youth Building in the Irving Park neighborhood of Battle Creek, Michigan.
On 24 January 1965, just weeks before being murdered, Malcolm …
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68From the CIA, the Vatican, and an Italian Communist: the first Russian edition of Doctor ZhivagoDoctor Zhivago.Milan but: The Hague, 1958.
InquireFirst edition: one of only 1,160 illegally printed copies in Russian of the novel which won Boris Pasternak (1890-1960) the Nobel Prize. These were published by Mouton in the Netherlands - though they feature the Feltrinelli imprint - and are issued in their trademark, nondescript blue cloth. The publication in Russian was facilitated by the CIA …
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69"Each poem, I think, should be as close to a suicide note as possible"3 typed letters and 11 typed letters signed ("Buk," "Bukowski," and "Buk …Los Angeles, July-November 1961.
€ 28,000.00Correspondence archive addressed to the American painter and poet Kay "Kaja" Johnson, who was well known within the Beat community in San Francisco during the 1950s. In this extensive collection Bukowski discusses his literary endeavours, the indulgences and miseries of daily life, suicidal ideation, and his job at the Post Office, but above all …
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70Live at the GrosvenorAutographed Norwich concert ticket.Norwich, 18 May 1963.
InquireA rare original concert ticket for The Beatles' performance at the Grosvenor Ballroom, Norwich, on 18 May 1963, autographed on the reverse by the group in blue ballpoint. The signed ticket comes with a letter from the original recipient that reads: "Regarding how I obtained the autographs of the Beatles, signed on the back of the concert ticket for …
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71Presentation 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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72"la chère bande à Godot"19 autograph items (lettercards, picture postcards, calling cards and one …Paris, London, Algeria, Morocco, 1972-1989.
InquireTo the German actor Stefan Wigger, who had played the character of Vladimir in Beckett's Berlin production of "Waiting for Godot" in 1975. During the following years, Wigger had sent him congratulations, books or messages of various content, and Beckett answered him kindly.
"[...] Bien reçu hier les deux livres dont je me promets beaucoup …
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73An impossible affair in the Old World: Henry Miller's short story "Vienna and Back"Autograph manuscript with autograph note monogrammed.No place, 1979-1980.
€ 7,500.00An excerpt from Henry Miller's 1979 publication "Joey. A Loving Portrait of Alfred Perlès Together With Some Bizarre Episodes Relating to the Other Sex" for Irving Stettner's Stroker Magazine, where it appeared under the final title "Vienna and Back", rather than "Love and Sex", as suggested by Miller in the manuscript. In the autograph note in …
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74The "MacIntosh Word Processor": Steve Jobs sets the stage for desktop publishingDocument signed ("steven jobs") as Chairman of Apple Computer, Inc.Cupertino, CA, 12 Jul 1982.
InquireAn agreement between Apple Computer, Inc. and (Kenneth) Randy Wigginton (b. 1959), as a semi-independent developer, for a "MacIntosh Word Processor" and the core editing routines.
Wigginton was one of the earliest Apple employees. He was still in high school in 1976 when he began in working with Steve Wozniak on the circuit design and ROM …