Naomh Pádraig (387-493).Saint Patrick banished snakes from Ireland. Fortunately, he allowed bookworms to stick around.Oh, Danny Boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling From Jimmy Joyce to William Butler Yeats...Beginning today, March 17, 2010 - St. Patrick's Day - Irish bookhounds and hounds of rare Irish books, art, and eiriana - or simply those blessed with the luck o' the Irish - can get a sneak-peek at a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow when Bloomsbury - New York previews The Irish Sale, to be held next Tuesday, March 23, 2010, presumably to allow hangovers ample time...
The Hands (and Notebooks and Little Black Book) of Henry Miller
Handprint of Henry Miller's right palm....A man of good taste, intellectual quality of mind, and the ability to translate his ideas into words and action...he has a broad-minded attitude toward people and situations...He has a quick wit, he likes being with people who have alert minds so there can be a stimulating exchange of ideas...In 1957, novelist Henry Miller made handprints of his right and left palms. In 1966, Miller sent the handprints, with instructions, to graphologist Dorothy Sara for analysis, the above quotation an excerpt from her report.The left hand of god.The prints are amongst 120 Miller-related items from...
Authentic G. Washington Bookplate Comes to Auction
An authentic example: Note the chain lines in the paper.Invisible at this size, the engraver's error is found abovethe B in Probat as a scratch exiting the leafat its base and to the right.(This is not the example selling at Heritage).A genuine bookplate belonging to George Washington will fall under the hammer at Heritage Auctions, February 11-12, 2010, at their new Beverly Hills, CA branch, sale 6038, lot 37023.Authentic examples don’t come to market very often, although genuine fakes are easily acquired; the Mount Vernon online store offers them for five-and-a- half georges.Heritage’s starting bid is $1,500. The bookplate is,...
Bloomsbury Rare Book Auction Lets the Market Decide (How Novel!)
Samuel de Champlain (1567-1635)Les Voyages du Sieur de Champlain Xaintongeois... Paris: Chez Jean Berjon, 1613.Estimate: $250,000 - $350,000. Realized $758,000Bloomsbury Auctions, which has been leading the auction world into no- and low-reserve sales, realized twice its estimate for the recent auction of the de Orbe Novo Collection of early books related to the New World 1492-1625, with complete sell-through of all eight-one lots for a total of $3,489,000, or $43,000 per lot.At a time when rare book auctions are typically selling only 70%-75% of lots offered, this is big news. Yet the sale has received zero coverage from the book...
Charles Dickens’ Deluxe Dental Tool Is Top Pick at Bonham’s
Charles Dickens' Deluxe Dental Hygiene Solution Charles Dickens' toothpick sold at Bonham's-NY yesterday for $9,150, including the buyer's premium. The pre-sale estimate for the pick of the litterateur was $3000-$5000.Exhibited at Chapin Library, Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts, and at the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York, in the Spring of 1970, the toothpick was sent to auction by its owners, the family collection of Barnes & Noble.Bonham's catalog description noted: "Dickens' toothpick, manufactured by Sampson Mordan & Co. of London, ivory and gold with retracting mechanism, 60 mm long when closed, engraved with Dickens' initials, manufacturer's and inventor's names, together with...