I would like to point out that his final sentence, which refers to a copy of Thomas Wright’s An original theory or new hypothesis of the universe, 1750, is incorrect – the price of £13,000 paid for the Beltrame copy is not an auction record.
In our sale on September 22 last year, Forum Auctions sold a copy of the same beautiful work for £15,000 hammer (lot 287). That, I believe, holds the auction record.
Rupert Powell
Deputy chairman, head of books, Forum Auctions
Ian McKay responds: It seems that the Forum result has not found its way into the online American Book Prices Current listings that I consulted (and I have now contacted them about this omission), but I really should have remembered the copy sold last year by Forum, which I reported in ATG No 2264.
