November Fine Books & Manuscripts Auction at Skinner
Boston, MA - Skinner is pleased to announce the November 18 auction of Fine Books & Manuscripts to be held at the Skinner Boston Gallery at 11PM. Featuring 350 lots, this rare book auction offers fresh finds from several important New England estates including printed books, documents, natural history prints and maps.
An attic discovery of the rare 1845 first edition of Poe’s Tales (Lot 224, Estimate: $60,000-80,000) in paper wrappers will be offered, along with a first edition of The Book of Mormon (Lot 264, Estimate: $45,000-55,000), and Benjamin Lincoln’s Oath of Allegiance witnessed and signed by George Washington (Lot 53, Estimate: $20,000-30,000).
Americana collectors will have a chance to bid on the 1770 London edition of A Short Narrative of the Horrid Massacre in Boston (Lot 55, Estimate: $7,000-9,000), a copy of John Ogilby’s America from 1671 illustrated with maps (Lot 201, Estimate: $10,000-15,000), and Dutton’s Atlas on the Grand Canyon (Lot 126, Estimate: $3,500-5,500).
As always, we will offer a selection of Audubon bird and quadruped prints (lots 291-309); and a number of Picasso (lots 216- 222) and Dali (Lot 114, Estimate: $2,500-3,500 and Lot 250, Estimate: $3,000-4,000) limited edition books and portfolios. Rare maps will be offered in the sale as well, including a copy of the 1761 Jeffreys New Hampshire map (Lot 335, Estimate: $2,000-3,000). Collectors of documents related to the civil rights movements of the 1960s will find a leftist, Black Panther, and gay rights publications from the period (lots 18, 84, 183, 202, and 270).
Lovers of literature can browse through a group of important modern first edition literature including Atlas Shrugged (Lot 227, Estimate: $1,000-1,500), East of Eden (Lot 259, Estimate: $300-400), To Kill a Mockingbird (Lot 182, Estimate: $3,000-4,000), The Catcher in the Rye (Lot 242, Estimate: $2,000-3,000), The Great Gatsby (Lot 136, Estimate: $400-600), and a signed first edition of The Old Man and the Sea (Lot 156, Estimate: $4,000-6,000), among others.
Previews, Catalogs & Events
Previews for the auction will be held in the Boston Gallery on November 15th from 12PM-7PM; November 16th from 12PM-5PM; November 17th from 10AM-4PM; and November 18th from 9AM-11AM. Free and open to the public, Fine Books & Manuscripts specialist Devon Eastland will be on hand to answer questions. A PDF auction catalog can be viewed and downloaded here.
Be part of Boston’s book week and preview the auction. We welcome the public to a bookbinding demonstration and discussion of restoration practices and approaches. Held during the preview at the Boston Gallery on Thursday, November 18, and accompanied with light refreshments. Please RSVP here.
Image: A Short Narrative of the Horrid Massacre in Boston, Perpetrated in the Evening of the Fifth Day of March 1770 by Soldiers of the XXIXth Regiment, 1770. (Lot 55, Estimate $7,000-9,000)
