Latest News Articles by Ian McKay
And then there were two Brothers Karamazov
01 April 2017“Very rare, most extant copies behind institutional walls,” said Swann (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) of a first English language version of Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov.
Chagall’s ‘Arabian Nights’
01 April 2017Seen here is one of 13 coloured lithographs by Marc Chagall that make up Tales from the Arabian Nights, a special, deluxe portfolio printed by Albert Carman and published by Pantheon Books in New York in 1948.
Scottish model for a new society – Robert Owen’s pioneering work offered at Dominic Winter auction
30 March 2017A copy of a pioneering work that has been described as “the first practical statement of socialist doctrine”, Robert Owen’s ‘A New View of Society...,’ of 1813-14, will be a major attraction in a Dominic Winter sale next month.
Bidder goes wild about Wilde
25 March 2017Elizabeth Barrett Browning lots fall flat... but annotated Dorian Gray leaves treble the estimate
Writer remains true to type
25 March 2017Typewriters on which famous books came into existence have featured on these pages before, but not for some time – and certainly not machines of a kind that that continue to be used by their owner to this day.
Bonhams’ double 0 heaven
25 March 2017A crease that runs around the lower part of the dust jacket detracts somewhat from the appeal of a first impression copy of the first of Ian Fleming’s Bond books, Casino Royale of 1953, but it sold for £16,000 in a March 1 sale held by Bonhams (25/20/12% buyer’s premium).
Shark’s Italian takeaway
25 March 2017Possibly the first printed reference to a ‘Great White’ shark attack is found in a four-page pamphlet, printed in Naples in 1721, from which the woodcut shown here is taken.
Rare first-hand account of the American revolutionary war takes record bid at Bonhams
23 March 2017Privately printed and distributed in Exeter in 1787, probably in quite small numbers, a copy of John Grave Simcoe’s ‘Journal of the Operations of the Queen’s Rangers, from the End of the Year 1777, to the Conclusion of the Late American War’ drew strong interest at a Bonhams New York sale earlier this month.
Get on the Blowers for his sale
18 March 2017Cricket commentator who has a way with words offers books from own library at auction
‘Sundial’ distorts view of the world
18 March 2017Highly unusual, not to say confusing, but mathematically correct is the view of the world as seen in this untitled map of 1640 that made £4500 in a Dominic Winter (19.5% buyer’s premium) sale of March 1.
Banned and then burned – two early English satires bloom again at Bonhams’ sale
17 March 2017Bound together some 200 years ago, rare copies of two Elizabethan satires that were first condemned and then burned will be among the books offered by Bonhams at the Glyn Cywarch sale later this month.
Job lot at £3600 is perfect sense
11 March 2017Auction find reveals historical account of follies, fads, manias and the madness of crowds
A rarity from the ‘Court of Queen Vic’ sells at Cambridge auction
06 March 2017A comic picture book issued by Fores in 1842 and titled ‘The Brother to the Moon’s Visit to the Court of Queen Vic’ would appear to be a great rarity, and a copy offered by Cheffins of Cambridge on February 22 made a much higher than predicted £1900.
In a couple, for better or verse
04 March 2017Rimbaud lots include a poem he gave to his lover Verlaine a year before their last quarrel
Mark Twain’s much-travelled trunk on offer at Heritage Auctions
25 February 2017This sturdy-looking ‘stagecoach trunk’ accompanied the great American writer Mark Twain on a great many of his travels. It will be offered for sale at Heritage Auctions in New York on March 8 where the starting bid is $25,000.
Author who burned with rage
25 February 2017Lot that reveals Hawthorne’s hatred of his first book leads a look at New York auctions
Early prints of the books realm
18 February 2017Appealing and solid provenance backs up 1497 group of proverbs in 19th century binding
Flights of fantasy – Bonhams to offer collection dedicated to airborne experiments
15 February 2017A French collection comprising 70-lots documenting historical attempts at achieving flight will be offered at Bonhams on March 1.
Scots lots show rhyme and reason
11 February 2017Wordsworth archive and a poetic description of syphilis sell in a varied Edinburgh auction
In a Lewis Carroll wonderland
04 February 2017One of the finest groups of the author’s works comes to auction at Cotswolds saleroom