News
2008-07-25
August Bibliophile Sale
Bearing its clients’ holiday spirit in mind, Bloomsbury’s 7th August Bibliophile sale has a variety of subjects on offer from Modern First Editions, Literature and Children’s Books to Travel, Sports and Pastimes.
A handsome set of the 20 vol Autograph Edition number 37 of 153 signed copies of The Writings by Thomas Hardy (lot 28) is estimated £3000-4000 and an especially scarce signed, Holiday by Stanley Middleton (lot 47) with its dust-jacket is expected to reach £500-600. Lovers of poetry might by enticed by a first edition of William Worsdworth’s Poems of 1807 (lot 107) estimated £900-1200 or by a signed first edition of
Another choice item is a signed first edition (one of 50) presentation copy of William Nicholson’s The Book of Blokes (lot 270) estimated £600-800. Those contemplating lazy summer and autumn days at the water’s edge, might be attracted by the musings of The Angler’s Sure Guide: or Angling Improved by Robert Howlett of 1706 (lot 384) estimated £200-300. A group of hot air ballooning books (lot 389) including a first edition of Wonderful Balloon Ascents by Marion Fulgenciol, is estimated at £150-180. The more down-to-earth will be excited by Big Game such as The Big Cats by Guy Coheleach (lot 390) with its many colour illustrations (estimate £200-300). Gentler spirits will have their hearts racing for an extremely rare book on cricket which is in remarkable state of preservation, The Eleventh Australian Tour 1902 (lot 392) with photographic illustrations is expected to fetch £400-600.
2008-07-23
Summer Bibliophile Sale
Bloomsbury’s summer Bibliophile sale (17th and 18th July) was a good, solid sale.
Amongst the Oil Paintings, Watercolours and drawings a mixed group (lot 12) of English School material fared especially well selling for £1600, well over the estimate of £250-350. Amongst the Gilbert and Sullivan items a collection of documentary material including inscribed photographs (lot 190), went for £1200, four times the high estimate. Theatrical costumes and related items did very well. The Decorative Art of Leon Bakst (1913) by Jean Cocteau and Arsene Alexandre sold for a healthy £1900, against an estimate of £600-800 (lot 234) while the following lot, a rare collection of Impressions of the Russian Ballet (lot 235) by the theatrical bookseller, critic and friend of Diaghilev, Cyril W Beaumont, fetched £1800 (estimate £1000-1500). Bakst was obviously in demand, Levinson’s Bakst (lot 240) fetched four times the lower estimate at £1200 and the Inedited Works of Bakst by Louis Reau (lot 244) made £2200 (estimate £1000-1500).
Amongst the Typography, The Printer’s International Specimen Exchange in 3 vols (lot 304) sold for £1500, three times the higher estimate. In the Middle East Travel section lot 348, Colonel CM Macgregor’s Journey Through Khorassan of 1879 was snapped up for £1700, well over its estimate of £750-1000 and The Royal English Atlas, being a complete collection of new and accurate maps by Thomas Kitchin and Emanuel Bowen (lot 380) fetched £5500, comfortably over the estimate of £3000-4000.
The Wind in the Willows number 213 of 250 by Kenneth Grahame and signed by the artist Ernest H Shepard (lot 852), went for £920 (estimate £750-1000) while a first edition of AA Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh (lot 862) made a very healthy £1800, against its £800-1200 estimate.