This sale features first editions, presentation copies, letters and manuscripts, from the mid-sixteenth century to the present day.

An exceptional highlight is an unpublished manuscript by Charlotte Brontë, written in miniature script when she was aged just fourteen.

The sale also includes, from a separate source, a series of presentation copies of the works of the Brontë sisters, given to their close friend Ellen Nussey.

Also in the sale are the second folio edition (1632) of Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories and Tragedies, first and inscribed editions of the works of Thomas Hardy, Oscar Wilde and Graham Greene, a very rare item of seventeenth-century postal history, family copies of works by Darwin, manuscripts of Karl Popper, and an E.H. Shepard original illustration of Piglet.

The sale also includes manuscripts of the Egyptian writer Naguib Mahfouz.

This December, Sotheby’s Important 20th Century Design auction will present a curated selection of decorative arts and design from the last 100 years. Commencing with masterworks of prewar design, the sale includes many rare offerings from the American Arts & Crafts and French Art Deco periods. The magnificent Coiffeuse and Chair shown here is just one of several masterworks on offer by designer Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann. The sale also presents collectors with a broad exploration of modern and contemporary design, highlighted by this exceedingly rare monumental sculpture of a Centaur by Francois-Xavier and Claude Lalanne.

This December, Sotheby’s is honored to present a highly important Three-Panel window executed by Tiffany Studios depicting a lush field of magnolia blossoms in the Important Tiffany auction.  This exquisite window was included in the landmark museum exhibition, “Masterwork of Louis Comfort Tiffany,” which debuted at the Renwick Gallery in Washington, DC in 1989, and traveled to The Metropolitan Museum of Art and four different venues in Japan.  The “Masterworks” exhibition was the first major retrospective to examine the top achievements in the various artistic disciplines of the Tiffany firm.  To this day, the items that were selected for inclusion are revered by collectors representing the firm’s best work.  This Magnolia window, formerly in the early collection of Bruce and Adele Randall, demonstrates Tiffany unparalleled artistic ability to portray the beauty seen in nature in the medium of glass.

Also in this auction, Sotheby has on offer a carefully curated selection of leaded glass lamps, favrile glass and patinated bronze works.  Highlights include a superb “Wisteria” Table lamp and a magnificent “Trumpet Creeper” Chandelier.

Sotheby’s is pleased to present our annual auction of Israeli & International Art on December 14th. This year we are honored to present Property from the Collection of Lillian and Jack Cottin, New York, a collection that notably includes three large, rare synagogue interiors by Marc Chagall from 1931 and 1935, which have been in the collection since 1945. Other highlights include important works by Mordecai Ardon, Reuven Rubin and Nahum Gutman.

We look forward to welcoming you to our galleries this December.