Part II of the sale of world traveler, adventurer, and book collector Steve Fossett's library gets underway in Chicago on March 15. A peruse through the catalogue makes clear just how many volumes in the "Adventure & Exploration" genre sport dazzling decorative cloth bindings. Let's take a look at ten that truly stand out.
1/10
Images courtesy of Leslie Hindman Auctioneers
First edition of Lecornu's La Navigation Aérienne(Paris, 1903) in publisher's decorated green cloth. Estimated at $250-350.
2/10
Images courtesy of Leslie Hindman Auctioneers
First edition of Burton's Two Trips to Gorilla Land and the Cataracts of the Congo (London, 1876) in original publisher's green gilt cloth. Estimated at $1,500-2,000.
3/10
Images courtesy of Leslie Hindman Auctioneers
First edition, presentation copy, of From Cape to Cairo. The First Traverse of Africa from South to North (London, 1900) in original publisher's pictorial mustard cloth. Estimated at $600-800.
4/10
Images courtesy of Leslie Hindman Auctioneers
First edition of Frank Oates' Matabele Land and the Victoria Falls (London, 1881) in publisher's pictorial olive green cloth. Estimated at $600-800.
5/10
Images courtesy of Leslie Hindman Auctioneers
First edition of Twixt Sirdar & Menelik. An Account of a Year's Expedition from Zeila to Cairo through Unknown Abyssinia (London & New York, 1901) in publisher's decorated tan gilt cloth. Estimated at $300-400.
6/10
Images courtesy of Leslie Hindman Auctioneers
First edition of John James Wild's At Anchor (London 1878). Intriguingly, the original publisher's pictorial green gilt cloth has been retained through rebacking and recornering in matching morocco. Estimated at $400-600.
7/10
Images courtesy of Leslie Hindman Auctioneers
First edition of Under the Northern Lights (London, 1876) in publisher's pictorial green gilt cloth. Estimated at $800-1,200.
8/10
Images courtesy of Leslie Hindman Auctioneers
Reprint edition of Nansen's famous "Farthest North." Being the Record of a Voyage of Exploration of the Ship "Fram"... (London, 1898) in original publisher's decorated green cloth. Estimated at $100-200.
9/10
Images courtesy of Leslie Hindman Auctioneers
First edition, presentation copy, of The Voyage of the 'Scotia.' Being the Record of a Voyage of Exploration in the Antarctic Seas (Edinburgh, 1906) in original publisher's pictorial gray cloth. I especially like how the art on some of these covers carries over onto the spine. Estimated at $1,000-1,500.
10/10
Images courtesy of Leslie Hindman Auctioneers
First trade edition of Across East African Glaciers. An Account of the First Ascent of Kilimanjaro (London, 1891) in original publisher's decorated green gilt cloth. Estimated at $1,000-1,500.
