Antique Maps Auction Preview: Week of December 5, 2005
150 Rare And Important Maps And Atlases From The Mark Babinski Collection
That's the aptly-named title of the December 8 auction at Swann Galleries in New York. As Swann's describes the sale: "maps of America by American mapmakers, including atlases, case maps, pocket maps, roll maps and historical literature containing maps".
A Great Auction Packed With American Antique Maps And Atlases
I try not to wax eloquent over auction offerings, but this one is a treasure trove for the collector of American cartographic material. A fascinating accumulation of indeed rare and important material, obviously chosen by a collector with a scholar's eye and sensibility. There are some magnificent cartographic gems in this highly-focused sale. This sale is likely to be the best single source for important, 19th century American antique maps and atlases for some time to come.
The Highlights Of The Atlas Section
Lot 9 is an 1838 Bradford atlas, described as being in excellent condition, and containing an important map of Texas, among others. The estimate is $8,000-12,000. Lot 16 is a rare edition of Matthew Carey's General Atlas. This example is an 1816 edition, with a presale tag of $10,000-15,000. Lot 41 is the extremely important, Henry Popple's 20-sheet Map of the British Empire, published around 1740. This was a map that was used by the likes of George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, and has a price tag to match -- the estimate is $40,000-50,000. Lot 44 is Raynal and Zatta's Atlas of North America, with 15 beautifully decorated American maps. (Estimate $10,000-15,000). In addition to lot 48, Tanner's Universal Atlas, is Tanner's Atlas of the United States, an unrecorded atlas, and a subset of Tanner's New Universal, estimated at $10,000-15,000. (Lot 49).
Antique American Maps Worth Seeing
Lot 58 is David Burr's Map of the State of New York, 1834, an important case map, in 24 sections, with presale estimate of $6,000-9,000. This was Burr's second large wall map of New York, and would be republished for the next quarter century. Speaking of large wall maps: how about William Darby's Map of the State of Louisiana, lot 61, published in 1816 by John Melish. Presale estimate $20,000-30,000.
The abundance of riches for the collector of American-made maps continues: rare wall maps of New York by the little-known John Eddy; lot 73, Melish's 1822 wall map of Pennsylvania, the rare first edition, estimated at $40.000-60,000; Mitchell and Young's wall map of the United States; Sauthier's 1779 map of New York, ($20,000-30,000); Tannner's United States of America ($10,000-15,000). If I were to try and list all the highlights, I'd almost have to reproduce the whole catalog. Which I don't intend to do. So, even if you can't attend the sale, you can certainly mouse over to Swann's website, and enjoy a browse through this magnificent collection.
That's the aptly-named title of the December 8 auction at Swann Galleries in New York. As Swann's describes the sale: "maps of America by American mapmakers, including atlases, case maps, pocket maps, roll maps and historical literature containing maps".
A Great Auction Packed With American Antique Maps And Atlases
I try not to wax eloquent over auction offerings, but this one is a treasure trove for the collector of American cartographic material. A fascinating accumulation of indeed rare and important material, obviously chosen by a collector with a scholar's eye and sensibility. There are some magnificent cartographic gems in this highly-focused sale. This sale is likely to be the best single source for important, 19th century American antique maps and atlases for some time to come.
The Highlights Of The Atlas Section
Lot 9 is an 1838 Bradford atlas, described as being in excellent condition, and containing an important map of Texas, among others. The estimate is $8,000-12,000. Lot 16 is a rare edition of Matthew Carey's General Atlas. This example is an 1816 edition, with a presale tag of $10,000-15,000. Lot 41 is the extremely important, Henry Popple's 20-sheet Map of the British Empire, published around 1740. This was a map that was used by the likes of George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, and has a price tag to match -- the estimate is $40,000-50,000. Lot 44 is Raynal and Zatta's Atlas of North America, with 15 beautifully decorated American maps. (Estimate $10,000-15,000). In addition to lot 48, Tanner's Universal Atlas, is Tanner's Atlas of the United States, an unrecorded atlas, and a subset of Tanner's New Universal, estimated at $10,000-15,000. (Lot 49).
Antique American Maps Worth Seeing
Lot 58 is David Burr's Map of the State of New York, 1834, an important case map, in 24 sections, with presale estimate of $6,000-9,000. This was Burr's second large wall map of New York, and would be republished for the next quarter century. Speaking of large wall maps: how about William Darby's Map of the State of Louisiana, lot 61, published in 1816 by John Melish. Presale estimate $20,000-30,000.
The abundance of riches for the collector of American-made maps continues: rare wall maps of New York by the little-known John Eddy; lot 73, Melish's 1822 wall map of Pennsylvania, the rare first edition, estimated at $40.000-60,000; Mitchell and Young's wall map of the United States; Sauthier's 1779 map of New York, ($20,000-30,000); Tannner's United States of America ($10,000-15,000). If I were to try and list all the highlights, I'd almost have to reproduce the whole catalog. Which I don't intend to do. So, even if you can't attend the sale, you can certainly mouse over to Swann's website, and enjoy a browse through this magnificent collection.
posted by Neil Street at 8:48 PM
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