Antique Maps & Prints, Week of April 24, 2006

Maybe Not So Quiet At The Auctions?

As one J. Boden kindly pointed out, in his/her comment on this post (below) it is not so quiet this week at the auctions. There is an auction, including antique maps, atlases, and decorative prints, at Reiss & Sohn in Germany. However, many of the items featured in the auction (though not all) are described only in German. The entire decorative prints section was in German, for example. So, like many non-English auctions which I'm sure are going on all the time, it's not one that we'd be able to review.

Quiet Week At The Auctions

Very little activity at auction for the week of April 24, with no major auctions to preview. The month of May looks like there will be some interesting sales, so stay in touch. (Better yet, why not subscribe to the blog, by adding it your "My Yahoo" account? See the buttons on the right of this page).

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Antique Maps & Prints, Week of April 17, 2006

Quiet Week At The Auctions

Very little activity at auction for the week of April 17, with no major auctions to preview. The month of May looks like there will be some interesting sales, so stay in touch. (Better yet, why not subscribe to the blog, by adding it your "My Yahoo" account? See the buttons on the right of this page).

Jefferys 1775 Atlas On View In New York

On April 14, in its coverage of the New York Antiquarian Book Fair, The New York Times had an interesting article about Thomas Jefferys's American Atlas published in London in 1775. This rare atlas was brought to the fair by rare book dealer William Reese. Well, maybe it's not that rare, since London map dealer Jonathan Potter showed up with an edition of his own. Still, it's good to see the world of antique maps getting a bit of coverage by The Times.

Upcoming Events

April 20, Washington, DC. The Washington Map Society meeting at 7:00 PM in the Geography and Map Division Room of the Library of Congress. This is an important meeting, featuring the annual business meeting and election of officers for the upcoming year. The business work is followed by a presentation about maps and charts of Maryland and The Chesapeake Bay.

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Antique Maps & Prints, Week of April 10, 2006

Dominic Winter 2-day Sale

April 12 & 13 feature a 2-day sale from Dominic Winter, starting with Printed Books, Maps & Ephemera on the 12th and Topographical Books, Maps & Views on the 13th. The highlight of Wednesday’s sale is Jean Baptiste Du Halde’s Description Geographique, Historique, Chronologique, Politique, et Physique de l’Empire de la Chine et de la Tartarie Chinoise, Paris, 1735 (lot 37, estimate 7-10,000 GBP). With 65 maps and plates, it has been described as the most celebrated of all 18th century accounts of China. Several atlases show up in the Travel Books section, including an 1846 Mitchell’s School Atlas (lot 61). In the Natural History section, John Gould’s Monograph of Toucans, 1841-1847, (lot 128, 2-3,000 GBP) appears, containing 36 beautifully-colored plates in the typical Gould palette. With works by Houghton, Humphrey, and Jardine, fresh-water fishes, butterflies, and birds abound in this sale. In the Antique Maps section, Blaeu’s Americas, and Bermuda, make an appearance, along with Ortelius’s World, circa 1592.

On April 13, the focus is on antique British maps, including De Jode’s British Isles, 1593 (lot 2, 8-1,200 GBP); Speed’s British Isles, 1627 (lot 3, 700-1,000 GBP); a group of Speed’s English County maps, and Seutter’s map of London, circa 1740s, (lot 28, 200-300 GBP). This is a well-stocked, two day event, with plenty of items in a middle price range for collectors of both antique maps and antique prints.

April 13, Christie’s of London

Staying in the British Isles, April 13 also features the Travel and Natural History sale at Christie’s. Interesting items we spotted include Peter Brown’s New Illustrations of Zoology, 1776, with 50 handcolored plates, (lot 18, 2-3,000 GBP); Henry Alken’s National Sports of Great Britain, also with 50 handcolored plates (lot 21, 6-9.000 GBP); Wilson and Bonaparte’s American Ornithology, 1832, with 97 handcolored plates, (lot 37, 1,200-1,800 GBP), and William Green’s Parrots in Captivity, 1884, (lot 51, 1,500-2,500 GBP). For the natural history collector, this Christie’s sale is well worth a visit to their website.

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Antique Maps & Prints, Week of April 3, 2006

Quiet Week At The Auctions

The coming week offers no major auctions involving antique maps and prints. The following week will be much busier, with Natural History at Bonhams on April 11; Travel and Natural History at Christies on April 13, and two consecutive days featuring antique maps at Dominic Winter, on April 12 & 13. Stay tuned for details in next week's blog.

Upcoming Events

April 8, Washington. The Washington Map Society will be taking a field trip to the National Building Museum, starting at 10:00 AM.

April 8, New York. The New York Map Society meets at 2:30 PM in the classroom of the New York Public Library, for a lecture entitled Green Maps, Eco-cultural Mapping in 46 Countries so Far.

April 11, Denver. Meeting of the Rocky Mountain Map Society, at the Denver Public Library, at 6:30 PM. The topic for discussion will be Cartographic myths of North America, presented by Society President Don McGuirk.

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