Latest News Articles by Ian McKay
Manhattan mapped out in detail
05 February 2018Extending from the tip of Manhattan as far north as 42nd Street, this large-scale Map of the City of New York of 1850 identifies by means of symbols and a key the city’s churches, schools, hotels, public buildings, parks, cemeteries and other places of interest.
Comic artists help Daleks to invade
05 February 2018Launched in 1965, TV Century 21 featured the work of some of the best comic artists of the day – among them Ron Turner, whose contributions included strips featuring The Daleks, Stingray and Captain Scarlet.
Celestial globes are star turns in Swiss and UK sales
05 February 2018Two exceptionally rare celestial globes or spheres have made their mark in Geneva and London salerooms in recent times – and on the same day.
Bidder’s declaration of intent in New York sale
29 January 2018Catalogued as “fresh and beautifully preserved”, a broadside printing of America’s Declaration of Independence authorised by the colony that had led the struggle against British rule, Massachusetts, was the star turn of the first major Americana auction of the year.
The US breaks out to the west
29 January 2018The American West was the theme of a 43-lot, single-owner collection offered as part of the January 17 sale held by Sotheby’s New York.
Explore the Greene lands
29 January 2018Russian America and polar exploration were the twin themes of a Christie’s New York (25/20/12.5% buyer’s premium) sale that offered highlights from the Martin Greene Library.
French view of their support of the Yorktown campaign
29 January 2018The ink and watercolour manuscript plan of New York City and the Hudson River seen here was prepared by cartographers attached to the Comte de Rochambeau’s forces during the Yorktown campaign in the American War of Independence, c.1781-82.
Bidders go beyond Wonderland
22 January 2018Carroll rubbed shoulders with Wilde, Rackham, Tolkien and many other children’s works in recent auctions.
Charity sale is Blakes’ heaven
22 January 2018Sold as part of a Sotheby’s (25/20/12.9% buyer’s premium) sale to benefit the charity House of Illustration, and in partnership with both the saleroom and Winsor & Newton, was a group of 33 lots gathered together under the heading First Editions Re-Covered.
Meadows works are cut above
22 January 2018Bid to a rather higher than suggested £1300 in a Lawrences (22% buyer’s premium) sale of December 8 in Crewkerne were two early 19th century works on water meadows.
Present arms? No, it’s from the 17th century actually
22 January 2018The chap in the voluminous breeches shown below is far removed from today’s riflemen as far as combat uniform is concerned.
The first voyage to Arcturus
22 January 2018A classic metaphysical fantasy novel that sold poorly when first issued but later influenced the works of CS Lewis and gained many admirers, A Voyage to Arcturus is the work of David Lindsay.
A host of Henry James highlights at auction
15 January 2018Presentation copies of The Bostonians and a volume containing the first bookform appearance of The Turn of the Screw were among the highlights of a large Henry James collection offered in almost 50 lots as part of a Sotheby’s (25/20/12.9% buyer’s premium) sale.
Bartok work sends bidders into rhapsody
15 January 2018Possibly the first autograph manuscript of a complete work by Bela Bartok ever seen at auction, a working manuscript for the complete score of the original version of his Second Rhapsody for Violin and Piano (BB96) was bid to £250,000 in a music sale held by Sotheby’s (25/20/12.9% buyer’s premium).
Fab feats at Crystal Palace
15 January 2018Illustrated here are two of the 20 hand-coloured litho plates, many showing the Crystal Palace in the background and each with a rhyming couplet below, that make up Blondin’s Marvellous Feats.
Storm lifts on the fashion world
15 January 2018Used as the catalogue cover design for an Illustration Art sale held by Swann (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) of New York was the George Lepape watercolour, ‘Après la Tempeste’ shown below.
Pushkin is toast of Russian lots
15 January 2018A fine Pushkin collection, running to a dozen lots in all, was a major attraction in the Russian section of at a Christie’s (25/20/12.5% buyer’s premium) sale.
Rare plates show the Holy Land
08 January 2018Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and the Holy Places…, an elephant folio work of 1865 that sold for a treble-estimate £45,000 at Sotheby’s (25/20/12.9% buyer’s premium) on November 14, was a rare and complete proof copy of a monumental book of Palestinian views recognised as one of the scarcer colour-plate books on the Middle East.
Well-preserved HG Wells works show condition counts
08 January 2018A remarkable group of 14 works by HG Wells – every one of them sporting a dust jacket – sold at strong and very often record sums in the book section of a December 15 sale held by Cuttlestones (17.5% buyer’s premium).
Titanic letters on the rise at two auctions
08 January 2018Two letters sent by passengers who lost their lives when the Titanic sank in 1912 came to auction in the latter part of 2017: one of them posted before she sailed, the other recovered, along with the owner’s pocket book, when his body was pulled from the freezing Atlantic waters.