Latest News Articles by Ian McKay
The railway that carried escaped slaves to freedom
18 November 2019Sporting a distinctive hairstyle and beard that the cataloguer suggested “…would never again be replicated until early 21st-century Brooklyn”, the photograph below was part of a slavery and abolition-themed lot sold for $80,000 (£64,725) in an Americana sale held in New York by Swann (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) on September 25.
Lambarde on Anglo-Saxon laws
18 November 2019A rare work by William Lambarde, the antiquarian, writer on legal subjects and author of the first county history, A Perambulation of Kent of 1576, was another highlight from the library of the late Eric Stanley, professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford (see reports in previous ATGs).
Key inscription boosts 1891 copy of Oscar Wilde's 'The Picture of Dorian Gray'
18 November 2019While the binding, with Charles Ricketts’ familiar gilt design on the front cover, is not in the best of conditions, an inscription on the half-title of this example of one of the 250 large paper copies of Oscar Wilde’s 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' published by Ward Lock in 1891 ensured that it set an auction record.
British and Irish book auctions: November 19-30, 2019
18 November 2019Our regular listing of British and Irish book auctions.
Piranesi takes to the field
11 November 2019Bid to a record £20,000 at a Forum Auctions (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) on September 26 was a beautifully bound example of Piranesi’s Campus Martius Antiquae Urbis.
British and Irish book auctions, November 12-21, 2019
11 November 2019Our regular listing of British and Irish book auctions.
Boz kicks off a splendid Dickens collection
11 November 2019Drizen Dickens lots notch up notable results despite some higher-value unsolds.
The worldwise works of HG Wells
11 November 2019Sold for a record $2750 (£2220) at PBA Galleries (20/15% buyer’s premium) in California on October 10 was an inscribed copy of The World Set Free, a prophetic novel by HG Wells.
Harry Potter casts spell on bidders
04 November 2019Code locked in a briefcase for two decades, a finely preserved, 1997 first issue of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was finally released this summer after being delivered by its Lancashire owners into the hands of a Derbyshire saleroom.
Melville library in demand at Swann
04 November 2019Two books from Herman Melville’s library, both volumes of classical poetry that were annotated throughout and in one instance signed, topped a recent New York sale.
Maps make their mark with prices far beyond estimates
04 November 2019Focusing on south-east Asia, a 90-lot map section in an Essex sale comprised the extraordinarily successful first portion of a collection of maps and charts assembled by Christopher Beresford-Jones.
British and Irish book auctions: November 4-21, 2019
04 November 2019Our regular listing of British and Irish book auctions.
Arabic printing pioneer at Bloomsbury Auctions
04 November 2019A 1547 translation into Arabic of Euclid’s Elementa Geometrica sold for £17,000 as part of an October 23 sale of Islamic and Near Eastern works on paper at Bloomsbury Auctions (25/12% buyer’s premium) on October 22,
Golf guide chips in for a sport surprise
04 November 2019Golf books do not bring as many really high prices as was once the case, but the most recent of the regular sales in this category held by a Californian saleroom did contain a couple of surprises.
Photographer Thomson travels up north
04 November 2019First work in photographer’s classic coverage of China and its people makes £48,000.
Letters reveal a time of turmoil
28 October 2019English Civil War material is of particular note in a broad-ranging Somerset auction
Dickens first survives as an auction rarity
28 October 2019As expected, the copy of Great Expectations shown below proved the star turn when Sotheby’s (25/20/13.9%) offered the splendid Charles Dickens collection formed by London accountant Lawrence Drizen.
Gauntlet thrown down for last time but not accepted
28 October 2019One curiosity from a book and manuscript sale held by Christie’s (25/20/13.5% buyer’s premium) on July 10, this kid glove or gauntlet represents the final challenge to trial by battle in English legal history.
British and Irish book auctions: October 29-November 8, 2019
28 October 2019Our regular listing of British and Irish book auctions.