Sale highlights include fine copies of first edition, first printings of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, one of the most successful young adult series in recent history. The lot includes first British editions of Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass. All three books in unclipped dust jackets are signed by Pullman on the title pages. In addition, the lot includes a rare pamphlet entitled “The History of the Alethiometer,” published by Scholastic in 2000. When unfolded, the pamphlet displays a large image of the Alethiometer. The pamphlet is also signed by Pullman.
Also on offer is a hand-painted cast resin sculpture “Blue-Green Abelard,” from beloved children’s book author Dr. Seuss (pseudonym of Theodor Geisel). Described as a “Lovely, colorful animal with long, curved antlers on wooden plaque,” the sculpture is #254 of only 375 copies created in 1999 from an original sculpture that Seuss produced in the 1930s as part of a series he dubbed Collection of Unorthodox Taxidermy. Reingold is particularly excited by this lot, noting it is “of particular interest due to its rarity and beauty” and that it “is a wonderful reflection of an early period of Dr. Seuss’s creative energies.”
Poetry collectors will be excited to learn that an unpublished poem by Charles Bukowski entitled “The Prize” will also be on auction. The typed poem is unsigned but includes Bukowski’s name and address typed in the upper left corner. According to the consignor, “I bought the poem from E. V. Griffith, publisher of Bukowski’s first book, Flower, Fist and Bestial Wail. The poem is not dated, but Bukowski lived on Mariposa between 1958 and 1963. Griffith published Poetry Now magazine, and years ago I bought a small stack of Bukowski poems and short story manuscripts from Griffith.”
Also on offer will be an incredibly rare first edition of Edward Bonney’s Banditti of the Prairies, or the Murderer’s Doom!! A Tale of the Mississippi Valley (1850). No copy of the work has been offered at auction since 1963. This true crime account, written by private detective, Mormon official, hotel keeper, and counterfeiter Edward Bonney, is his first-hand description of how he tracked down the murderers of Col. George Davenport. As a friend of Joseph Smith, Bonney was named to the Mormon “Council of Fifty,” one of only three non-Mormons so-designated. This work is considered to be critical of Mormon leadership of the time, and is an incredibly rare document of the early Mormon church.
Previous to the November 14 Books & Manuscripts sale, Potter & Potter is also offering a Counterculture and the 1960s sale on September 19. Included will be a range of memorabilia from the Grateful Dead, including posters, apparel, ephemera, and an enormous archive of show tapes; and approximately 200 lots of gay erotica dating from the 1960s.
