It comes from the library of George Washington’s nephew Bushrod Washington, heir to his Mount Vernon estate and a Supreme Court Justice. The estimate is $40,000-$60,000.
Other highlights include:
- a 37-volume set of The Memorial Edition of The Writings of Mark Twain including a manuscript leaf in Twain’s hand (estimate: $6,000 - $9,000)
- a group of vibrant prints by John James Audubon, led by Hooping Crane ($30,000-$50,000), Wood Ibis ($15,000-$25,000), and Purple Heron ($12,000-$18,000)
- a group of 62 original illustrations from the Harriman Expedition to Alaska, ca. 1900 ($10,000-$15,000)
- a set of Giovanni Ramusio Battista’s early travel narratives ($8,000-$12,000)
- first editions of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer ($1,500-$2,500) and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn ($3,000-$5,000)
- early astronomical texts including the first collected edition of Galileo’s works ($3,000-$5,000), Edmund Halley’s Tabulae Astronomicae ($3,000-$5,000), and the first English edition of Johannes Kepler’s Tabula Rudolphiae ($1,500-$2,500)
- fine bindings featuring the work of Edwards of Halifax, Theodore Hague, and John Grabau
- Anna J. Cooper’s A Voice From the South ($3,000-$5,000)
Also going under the hammer is The Destruction of the Bastille, an ink-wash drawing made at the onset of the French Revolution gifted to President George Washington by French military commander, the Marquis de Lafayette, one of Washington’s most trusted military commanders during the War. It was one of Washington’s most cherished possessions, hung prominently in the presidential house during his two terms, and then at his Mount Vernon home, even after his death. The estimate is $500,000-$800,000.
