Mencken, Novello, and Johnson’s Dictionary in Francis Dobo Library Sale

The AntiquarianAuctions.com sale includes over 200 lots of selected material on a wide range of subjects, opening with a group of 36 lots from the library of Hungarian-born bibliophile, book collector, and publisher Francis F. Dobo (1908-1998). This includes literary works from William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, Arthur Koestler, Christopher Isherwood, Norman Mailer, Franz Kafka, and more. The auction opens for bids on February 8, ending at 12.30pm on  February 15.

Dobo’s friendship with, and appreciation of the work of visual artists is also represented in works by Cartier-Bresson, Rockwell Kent, Matisse, El Lissitzky, inter alia.

In just six lots (118-123), there is also a quite substantial group of works by or on early-20th century critic, editor and commentator, H.L. Mencken, all collected and protected before about 1932 and as a result (in many cases) in quite exceptional condition (there is one particular group that are housed in custom-made leather-backed two-part boxes).

Individually, there is lot 105 an inscribed copy of It’s Not About Time (NY: 1993) – the only substantial published work by John Farris. This is immediately followed, by lot 106 a nice two-volume set of Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary (3rd edition. London: 1765). Lot 186 is a beautiful set of Paul Mercuri and Camille Bonnard’s Costumes Historiques (3 vols., Paris: 1860-1), 200 hand-colored plates, in red morocco, and lot 195 George Kelson’s The Salmon Fly (London: 1895).

Amongst the antiquarian offerings are lot 36 John Smith’s Compleat Fisher (London: c.1730) and lot 169 Benjamin Rhodes New Book of Cyphers (London: 1696).

Manuscripts include:

• a financial summary kept by one Willam Almy of Massachusetts in 1846-8, including ‘bank-rolling’ his son’s gold-rush adventure by paying $100 for his passage to California (lot 183)
• an important autograph draft of an 1813 letter from reformer Joseph Hume to the Duke of Sussex (lot 175)
• Prime Minister Asquith’s thoughts on the imminent outbreak of World War I (lot 163)
• part of a 19th century survey of the route of the Suncook Valley Railroad (lot 135)
• an Ivor Novello musical manuscript from 1939 (lot 124)
• five original drawings of a vanished hotel and its associated sawmill in Gorham, New Hampshire (lot 109)

More generally, and in summary, the sale includes modern literature (including inscribed copies), interesting natural history (including angling), Americana, manuscript material, and good run of rare ephemera.