Antique Map Auction Preview For Week Of October 24, 2005

The action is in Boston this week, as some very nice antique maps of Boston and New England go on the block at Skinner, Inc. October 30 is the date for Skinner’s Fine Books and Manuscripts Sale, held at the same time as the Boston Book Fair.

Audubon Prints

The jewel of the sale is undoubtedly lot 189, a fine copy of Adubon’s Birds of North America, 1860 Bien edition, said to be in superb condition. The presale estimate is $300,000-400,000. That’s a lot of money for chromolithograph. If it’s more than your wallet can stand, there are some loose prints from the first edition also in this auction. Most of them are framed.

Cook’s Voyages

Lot 215 is the atlas volume from Cook’s Voyage to the Pacific Ocean (1784). Lacking the “Death of Cook” plate, it still commands a presale estimate of $6,000-8,000.

City Views Of Newport, Rhode Island

An unusual item is lot 313, The City and Scenery of Newport, Rhode Island, by John Collins. Published in 1857, it is an oblong folio with fourteen views by Collins, lithographed by T. Sinclair. Skinner is hoping to realize at least $2,500-3,500 for this rarity.

Buffon Bird Prints

A set of Georges Buffon’s monumental, 9-volume Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux, (1770-1783) shows up as lot 320. Estimate $3,000-5,000.

Antique Maps of North America And New England

On the antique map front, bidders will compete for such items as lot 414, Arrowsmith’s A Map Exhibiting all the New Discoveries in the Interior Parts of North America (1833 or later), a folding map mounted on linen, with an estimate of $800-1200. Lot 416 is an unusual piece, described as a “large and skilled manuscript map,” The United States of America by C. Stark, Jr., Dow Academy AD 1819. This framed piece, even with discolored varnish, has a presale estimate of $1,500-2,000. Finally, if Revolutionary-era New England, especially Boston, is your interest, then this auction has some items you’ll want to check out. Some of the plans of Boston are extremely rare.