Books

Hand-Signed Lincoln Note, Rare 10-volume Edition of Poe’s works, Civil War, US & Bermuda Maps Lead Waverly Rare Books’ Nov. 21 Auction

November 11th, 2013 by

FALLS CHURCH, Va. – Waverly’s of suburban Washington, D.C., will offer connoisseurs 450 lots of rare books, maps, atlases and ephemera in a well-rounded November 21st catalog auction. Many themes and categories are featured, and key selections include an 1865 note signed by Abraham Lincoln, The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe(1902, 10 vol.), and a “censored” Civil War-era map showing the locations of 20 forts around the nation’s capital.

1862 Topographical Map

Section of 1862 topographical map of ‘Original District of Columbia and Environs’ showing street grids and important landmarks, including ‘Presidents House.’ Est. $4,000-$6,000.

The 1862 topographical map of the “Original District of Columbia and Environs” was created by G. Arnold C.E. and published by G. Woolworth Colton of New York City. The highly detailed map shows not only the region’s natural features, both Washington City and Alexandria’s street grids and railroads, but also the location of more than 20 Union forts, marked in red.

“It was considered a threat to security for these forts to be identified,” said Monika Schiavo, director of sales and marketing at Waverly Rare Books. “The map came to the attention of the War Department after it was offered for sale in stores around Washington, and agents confiscated every copy they could find. They also attempted to obtain the names and addresses of those who had purchased copies of the map, and even went to New York to destroy Colton’s lithographic stone. As a result, these maps are very rare today.” The example in Waverly’s Nov. 21 auction, which was consigned by The Association of the Oldest Inhabitants of the District of Columbia, is estimated at $4,000-$6,000.

The maps and atlases category, overall, is very strong. A circa-1794 edition from London with 87 plates is voluminously titled “A New Universal Atlas…A Modern History and Description of the Whole World Containing New, Full, Accurate, Authentic, and Interesting Accounts and Descriptions of Europe, Asia, Africa, and America.” Nineteenth-century atlases include “Kingdoms, States and Republics of the World (1854),” and “The Illustrated Atlas, And Modern History of the World – Geographical, Political, Commercial, and Statistical (1851).” Also, several high-quality lots were consigned by a major collector of early Bermuda maps, a specialty category that has a dedicated following.

An item of great historical importance is an 1868 textbook on seamanship that was owned and signed by James Henry Conyers, the first African American cadet enrolled at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Conyers was appointed to the academy by US Representative Robert Elliot of South Carolina. Unfortunately, Conyers’ tenure at Annapolis was brief. He suffered indignities and repeated beatings at the hands of racist midshipmen, and after a relatively short time, left the academy. The textbook is entered in the auction with a $3,000-$5,000 estimate.

A small but remarkable archive of World War II memorabilia comes with provenance from Bruce Norton, the former director of the Marine Corps Command Museum in San Diego. One of the lots is a panel from a 1995 calendar commemorating the 50th anniversary of the US Marines’ landing at Iwo Jima. It is signed by approximately 66 Iwo Jima vets attending a 50-year reunion, as well as photographer Joe Rosenthal, who took the iconic 1945 photo of Marines raising the American Flag on Mount Suribachi. This item is estimated at $400-$600.

A second item consigned by Norton is a 1953 book titled “Pearl Harbor to Golgotha,” written by Mitsuo Fuchida, the air captain who led the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Fuchida, who later became a Christian minister, signed the book after being recognized by a Marine at a diner in Idaho. The book later came into Norton’s possession and now will be auctioned with a pre-sale estimate of $400-$600.

Abraham Lincoln

Engraved portrait of Abraham Lincoln framed together with 1865 handwritten note in authorizing passage through Union lines toward Richmond. Est. $3,500-$4,500.

Topping the Presidential selection, an engraved portrait of Abraham Lincoln is framed together with a handwritten note that reads: “Allow A. Van Camp to go through our lines to Richmond and to return upon his own private business. A. Lincoln. Feb. 25, 1865.” The estimate on this lot is $3,500-$4,500. The auction also includes documents signed by Presidents James Monroe and John Quincy Adams.

An estimate of $4,000-$6,000 has been placed on the 10-volume set “The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe.” It is one of 26 editions that were published in 1902 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons. A century older and no less fascinating, the 1805 R. Shannon work “A Practical Treatise on Brewing, Distilling, and Rectification…” deals with the “genuine process” of making brandy, rum and Hollands gin, and the “London practice” of brewing porter, ale, and table beer and country ales. One of the volumes delves into the cultivation of wine grapes, wine importation and even wine tasting. Estimate: $600-$900.

Waverly Rare Books’ Nov. 21 auction will begin at 6 p.m. Eastern time. The preview begins on Nov. 16 and continues through and including auction day (see website for hours). The gallery is closed on Sundays.

 

**All forms of bidding will be available, including absentee or live via the Internet through www.LiveAuctioneers.com. For information on any lot in the sale, call 703-532-5632 or e-mail monika.schiavo@quinnsauction.com. Visit Waverly Rare Books online at www.quinnsauction.com.

View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

Waverly Rare Books Auction Will Take Place on September 19th

September 11th, 2013 by

FALLS CHURCH, Va. – Waverly Rare Books, a division of Quinn’s Auction Galleries in suburban Washington DC, will deliver a wealth of local nostalgia to the auction block on Thursday, September 19th. The centerpiece of the sale is a remarkable selection of gelatin silver photographic prints by Theodor Horydczak (Polish/American, 1890-1971), whose specialty was documenting in black and white the architecture and social activities in our nation’s capital primarily during the first half of the 20th century.

Elvis Presley inscription and autograph on record-album sleeve. Est. $300-$500.

Horydczak was especially adept at capturing attractive angles of government buildings and landmarks, both inside and out. He enjoyed being in the heart of the action and was there with his camera for such events as the 1933 World Series and Washington’s World War II preparedness campaigns. The vast majority of Horydczak’s work – more than 14,000 photos in all – became part of the permanent collection at The Library of Congress after his family donated the extensive archive.

“Theodor Horydczak was an accomplished commercial photographer whose photos were turned into postcards, calendars and other printed ephemera. In our research, we came across a rare Mount Vernon souvenir postcard featuring one of Horydczak’s photos, which leads us to believe he also sold his photos to museums and cultural institutions,” said Monika Schiavo, director of Waverly Rare Books.

There are 35 large-format Horydczak photographs in the September 19th auction, some of them measuring over 6 feet. Three are pencil-signed and some are stamped on verso with Horydczak’s studio name and reproduction notice.

“The consignor of the Horydczak photographs purchased them years ago as a box lot at a country auction in Virginia, then stored them away,” Schiavo said. Estimates range from $300-$500 for a gelatin silver print of the National Cathedral Sanctuary, to $1,500-$2,500 for a dramatic after-dark image of the US Capitol and Reflecting Pool, pencil-signed by Horydczak. Beautiful photos of the Washington Monument and Mount Vernon are also among the signed lots.

The auction will recall America’s days as a new nation in the form of an archive of historical documents pertaining to Fries Rebellion. The 1798 uprising of German-American farmers near Philadelphia, led by John Fries (circa 1750-1818), protested a federal real property tax enacted by President John Adams to finance an anticipated war with France. In July of 1798 Fries led the group of dissenters to a jail in Bethlehem, Pa., demanding the release of prisoners who had been arrested for resisting the tax.

U.S. District Judge Richard Peters issued warrants for the tax protestors and sent U.S. Marshall William Nichols to Northampton County in February of 1798. Nichols arrested 20 violators and held them in the Sun Tavern in Bethlehem prior to their removal to court in Philadelphia. Fries led a company of men to the tavern and negotiated with Nichols, who eventually released the prisoners; whereupon Fries and his company dispersed. Later, Fries was captured and tried twice. Both times he was convicted of treason and sentenced to hang, but in 1800 he was pardoned by President Adams.

Group Lot 436 contains 31 documents pertaining to Fries Rebellion, including the written appointment of Capt. William Rodman of the Bucks County Troop of Light Dragoons to the post of Deputy Marshall, troop rolls, lists of equipment, payments to soldiers, and correspondence requesting payment for expenses for forage and stores. The archive is estimated at $2,000-$3,000.

A compelling slice of 20th-century British history is encapsulated in Lot 371, a set of three custom-cased, blue cloth albums originally belonging to Edward the Prince of Wales (briefly King Edward VIII until his abdication; later Duke of Windsor). The albums contain 117 photographs relating to Edward’s British Army service in Egypt and Sudan during March and April of 1916. The photos include such subjects as British military personnel in a rowboat crossing the Suez Canal, Indian military men on camels, two photos of a monkey on board the ship that transported Edward to Sudan, two photos of trains, and many pictures of the prince on horseback, with honor guards and other officers. Additionally, there are photos from the palace of the Governor-General of Sudan, and images of Sudanese commoners, some with livestock. The bound albums are embossed in gold: “Windsor Photographs Vol. 159/160/161.” Estimate: $400-$700.

Edward isn’t the only royalty represented in Waverly’s September 19 auction. Memories of America’s own “king” – Elvis Presley – are captured in Lot 434, a record-album sleeve personally inscribed “To Sue/Thanks./Elvis Presley.” In very good condition, the autographed sleeve is expected to make $300-$500.

Among the top entries in the Art & Illustrations section is Lot 192, a cased 1898 folio of Pierre Bonnard lithographs titled La Lithographie Originale en Couleurs (Paris: Andrew Mellerio). Two original lithographs by Bonnard are among those included. Estimate: $1,500-$2,500. Also, Lot 203, a set of six French art and literary journals, features original lithos by Chagall, Calder and Tapies. The six issues of Derriere Le Miroir (Paris: Maeght) are from as early as 1966, the period during which Calder’s star rose to prominence worldwide. Estimate: $200-$300. Lot 276, The Prints of Roy Lichtenstein – A Catalogue Raisonne 1948-1993 by Mary Lee Corlett, is estimated at $150-$200.

A boxed set designed by Jasper Johns as a tribute to Gertrude Stein is cataloged as Lot 53. The compartmented set was created for a 1971 museum exhibition in Germany and includes paper rolls that introduce and list the contents of the exhibit; as well as an advertisement for Johns’ “lightbulb” works, and a red plastic rose. The lot is affordably estimated at $80-$120.

Waverly Rare Books’ September 19 auction will begin at 6 p.m. Eastern time. The preview is on from September 14 through and including auction day (see website for hours). The gallery is closed on Sundays.

All forms of bidding will be available, including absentee or live via the Internet through www.LiveAuctioneers.com. For information on any lot in the sale, call 703-532-5632 or e-mail monika.schiavo@quinnsauction.com. Visit Waverly Rare Books online at www.quinnsauction.com.

View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.