Autographs by Washington, Hamilton & Hancock Bring Top Prices in November 2020 Sale of Fine Books & Manuscripts Jane Austen Leads Fine Books & Manuscripts at Swann Our Tuesday, November 17, 2020, sale of Fine Books & Manuscripts saw great success across categories with a 90% sell-through rate by lot, and closed above the total high-estimate at $675,481. 19th & 20th Century Literature Jane Austen First Editions Jane Austen First Editions offered in the November 17, 2020 sale of Fine Books & Manuscripts. “Literature tipped over to an eye-opening 95% of all lots sold. Steadfast buyer confidence, a constant throughout the entire sale, drove high prices via a multitude of bidding platforms,” remarked John Larson, the house’s specialist for literature and art books. Enthusiasm for Jane Austen proved to be enduring as 100% of the 12 works by the author on offer found buyers. The success of the editions comes after the house offered a complete run of first editions of Austen’s novels in rare period binding earlier in the year. Highlights from this sale’s selection included first editions of Pride and Prejudice, 1813 ($75,000), Sense and Sensibility, 1811 ($57,500), Mansfield Park, 1814 ($16,250), Emma, 1816 ($15,000), and Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, 1818 ($10,625). Related Reading: A Novel, By a Lady: Jane Austen First Editions Charles Dickens to Harper Lee Charles Dickens, American Notes for General Circulation, first edition, inscribed to Richard Henry Dana, Jr., the day after publication, presentation copy from Dickens’ first United States tour, London, 1842. Sold for $35,000. Additional nineteenth-century literature of note included an exceptional association copy of Charles Dickens’ American Notes for General Circulation, 1842. The first edition presentation copy from Dickens’ first tour in the United States included an inscription to Richard Henry Dana, Jr., the author of the memoir Two Years Before the Mast, and sold for $35,000. John Keats’ Lamia, Isabella, the Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems, 1820 ($9,375), and an inscribed presentation copy of Oscar Wilde’s Poems, 1882 ($6,250), also featured. Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird, first edition, with inscribed lead laid in loose, New York, 1960. Sold for $6,750. Twentieth-century literature saw success with a first edition of To Kill a Mockingbird, 1960, by Harper Lee with an inscribed leaf laid into the edition ($6,750); and a first edition of the most influential economic work of the twentieth century John Maynard Keynes’ The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, 1936 ($7,000). Autographs Signed Books Ezra Pound, Introductory Text Book, signed and inscribed, circa 1938. Sold for $7,500. Of the autographs offering specialist Marco Tomaschett noted, “signed books performed surprisingly well: an Albert Schweitzer inscribed book realized three times the high estimate at $2,250; two uncommon books signed by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry both exceeded their high estimates at $3,250 and $1,820, respectively; and most surprising was an uncommon pamphlet signed and inscribed by Ezra Pound which realized six times the high estimate at $7,500!” Americana John Hancock, Uncommon Privateer Commission, partly-printed document signed as President of the Continental Congress, 1777. Sold for $9,375. Americana also proved to be popular among autograph buyers. Highlights included partly-printed documents, signed by George Washington as President and counter-signed by Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State, granting permission to a ship in 1894 in three languages ($22,500); Abraham Lincoln as President with the 1863 issue ordering New York to furnish 2,050 troops under the Enrollment Act of March 3, 1863 ($18,750); and John Hancock as President of the Continental Congress issuing an uncommon privateer commission during the Revolutionary War ($9,375); as well as an autograph letter signed by Alexander Hamilton as Secretary of the Treasury helping the Bank of the United States to quell the panic of 1792 ($11,875). Art, Press & Illustrated Books Alexander Calder, Calder’s Circus, deluxe limited edition, signed, New York, 1964. Sold for $6,240. Illustrated works included a signed deluxe limited edition of Alexander Calder’s Calder’s Circus, New York, 1964 ($6,240); a first edition of Aubrey Beardsley’s The Lysistrata of Aristophanes, London 1896 ($5,000); Maurice Utrillo’s La Rue Norvins à Montmartre, Paris, 1952, published for the 25th Anniversary of the Societe Francaise d’Assurance pour Favoriser le Credit ($3,120); Auguste H. Thomas’s Formes et Couleurs, a 1921 album of 20 brilliantly colored plates ($1,235); and a limited edition copy of Omar Khavyám’s Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám: A Personal Selection from the Five Editions of Edward FitzGerald, London, 1980, printed by the Curwen Press and signed by the editor ($1,062). Browse the Complete Catalogue Consign with Swann Share Facebook Twitter November 23, 2020Author: Kelsie JankowskiCategory: Books & Manuscripts Tags: Abraham Lincoln Albert Schweitzer Alexander Calder Alexander Hamilton Americana Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Art Press and Illustrated Books Aubrey Beardsley Auguste H. Thomas autographs Charles Dickens Emma Ezra Pound Fine Books & Manuscripts George Washington Harper Lee Jane Austen John Hancock John Keats John Maynard Keynes Lincolniana Mansfield Park Maurice Utrillo Northanger Abbey Omar Khavyám Oscar Wilde Persuasion Pride and Prejudice Printed & Manuscript Americana Records & Results Rubáiyát Sense and Sensibility To Kill A Mockingbird Previous Happening November 30: Artists That Went Against The Grain Next Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books: December 2020 Highlights Recommended Posts Records & Results: Autographs Autographs March 28, 2019 Auction Highlights: Fine Books & Autographs — October 26, 2023 Books & Manuscripts October 4, 2023 Across the Continent: a Currier & Ives print with ties to Thomas W. Streeter Maps & Atlases December 5, 2018