Fine Books & Autographs
Sale #2650
The spirits of conflict and exploration are intertwined in the autographs on offer. Among the most respected explorers of the unknown are scientists, each of whom must contend with the antagonist in any scientific enterprise: ignorance. This auction contains items created by some of the best-known heroes to have enlightened the world, chief among them Albert Einstein, with a selection of letters from the physicist.
The sale includes an extraordinary archive of 19 letters to Melanie Serbu, a Romanian bank clerk and aspiring physicist whom Einstein had hoped to bring into the fray of scientific research. Available in a separate lot is an extraordinary letter to Serbu, written in 1937 when Einstein was revisiting his ideas about gravitational waves, showing equations demonstrating his insight about high-frequency waves generated during the deformation of bodies, which Einstein believed might make a fruitful dissertation topic for her.
The 19th & 20th Century Literature portion of the sale features a first edition of Edgar Allan Poe’s Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque, and a set of the five Christmas books by Charles Dickens, first editions handsomely bound by Morrell. Modern first edition highspots include a superb copy of Animal Farm by George Orwell, as well as the signed, limited American edition in the scare dust jacket of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince. A run of fine bindings will be offered, including an exceptional Cosway-style by Bayntun Riviere with an Abraham Lincoln portrait, and several French Art Deco examples.
Among the highlights found within the art, press and illustrated books section are two seldom-seen titles from the Limited Editions Club: one a unique copy of Robert Motherwell and Octavio Paz’s Three Poems, representing the sole ‘Position Proof’ that includes the verse; and the complete set of Henri Cartier-Bresson’s four signed photogravures, one of sixty produced. Finally, among many appealing fine press books on offer is one of the major works from Ashendene Press, The Noble and Joyous Book entitled Le Morte d’Arthur.
12pm
Sat, Oct 21st 12pm – 5pm
Mon, Oct 23rd 12pm – 5pm
Tue, Oct 24th 12pm – 5pm
Wed, Oct 25th 12pm – 5pm
Swann Auction Galleries
104 East 25th Street
New York, NY
40.741169463679, -73.9849882
Swann Auction Galleries
