Coming to auction next month is a dazzling collection, notable for its first editions, modern illuminated manuscripts, and beautiful bindings. There’s a Nuremberg Chronicle, a Second Folio, and a Fourth Folio. Plus Arthur Conan Doyle, Samuel Johnson, and Mary Shelley, just to name a few of the stars.
It is the library of American lawyer Edward R. Leahy. “Quietly assembled with taste and discernment over more than a half century, the authors and the works are important, and the copies in this collection are particularly noteworthy for their extraordinary condition and provenance,” according to the Christie’s.
What I find interesting about it, though, is how many famous book collectors it also brings together. Those represented include Phoebe Boyle, Jerome Kern, A. Edward Newton, Estelle Doheny, H. Bradley Martin, Richard Manney, William E. Self, and Cornelius Hauck. Here are some highlights:
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Credit: Christie’s Images Ltd. 2022
From the Collection of Phoebe Boyle
Guinevere by Alfred Lord Tennyson, Alberto Sangorski for Riviere, 1913. From the celebrated collection of Phoebe Boyle, “probably the finest jeweled binding on a modern illuminated manuscript ever accomplished.” Estimate: $100,000-150,000.
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Credit: Christie’s Images Ltd. 2022
From the Collection of Jerome Kern
The Woodman and the Nightingale, illuminated binding in decorative morocco binding. Sangorski and Riviere, 1916. Formerly in the collection of Jerome Kern (and before that, Boyle!). Estimate: $20,000-30,000
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Credit: Christie’s Images Ltd. 2022
From the Collection of A. Edward Newton
Life of Samuel Johnson by James Boswell, 1741. The A. Edward Newton copy with uncancelled leaf. Estimate: $40,000-60,000
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Credit: Christie’s Images Ltd. 2022
From the Collection of Estelle Doheny
The Poetical Works, Percy B. Shelley, 1892. The Estelle Doheny copy in a Cosway-style binding, with delicate portrait miniature depicting Shelley. Estimate: $4,000-6,000
