Cryptanalysis, or the process of analyzing information systems in order to breach algorithms and decipher encrypted messages, is actually not a modern concept. The auction offers a copy of the first major work on subject – Elements of Cryptanalysis – which was written by William F Friedman for use as a War Department training pamphlet. A first-edition octavo dated May 1923, it is entered with a $600-$900 estimate.
The October 26 sale includes a virtual time capsule of Ronald Reagan’s presidential highlights as documented through cassette tapes of his most famous speeches, addresses, and personal recollections. The set of six tapes is presented together with a signed octavo first edition of Reagan’s An American Life (Simon and Schuster, NY, 1990). The stately suite of written and spoken materials is No. 892 of 2,000 copies. In fine condition, it is estimated at $2,000-$3,000.
The White House copy of the 1909 Plan of Chicago, prepared by Daniel H. Burnham under the direction of the Commercial Club, Chicago, is No. 757 of 1,650 copies. Its copyright page is stamped “By transfer The White House March 3rd, 1913" with a Library of Congress bookplate applied over the original Commercial Club bookplate. Containing numerous plans, plates and illustrations, some folding or in color, the book is offered with an $800-$1,200 estimate.
Antoine Saint-Exupery’s The Little Prince (Reynal & Hitchcock, NY, 1943) goes under the hammer in an octavo first trade edition first printing with a five-line colophon at the rear. Retaining an unclipped first-issue dust jacket with the original $2 price, this English-language book translated from French and illustrated in color is expected to attract a winning bid in the $800-$1,200 range.
Elsewhere, Edgar Allan Poe’s The Pit and the Pendulum appears in The Gift: A Christmas and New Year Present (Philadelphia: Carey and Hart), a first-state octavo edition. An 1843 date is shown on both the title and copyright pages. Estimate: $800-$1,200
The auction also features many fine engravings (Winslow Homer, after Audubon, David Loggan, et al.), prints, folios, and ephemera and photographs signed by notable figures. Fritz Eichenberg’s (American, 1901-1990) Erasmus: In Praise of Folly (Aquarius Press, NY and Baltimore, 1972) is 1 of 10 copies and designated with the Roman numeral IV. It contains 10 woodblock prints by Eichenberg, each signed in pencil. Estimate: $600-$900.