April 7-15, 2015 • New York, NY
Auctions
Bonhams
Following on the success of this year’s Oscar-nominated film, The Imitation Game, Bonhams offers this spectacular find on April 13: a key scientific manuscript, written by British codebreaker Alan Turing. The 56-page notebook, full of mathematical notation, “is almost certainly the only extensive autograph manuscript by Turing in existence, and has never been seen in public,” according to Bonhams, and it dates from 1942 when Turing was working at Bletchley Park to break the German Enigma Code. It is estimated to sell “for at least seven figures.” For more information, visit bonhams.com.
Courtesy of Bonhams.
Christie’s
On April 7, Christie’s New York serves up some “American Pie”—the original working manuscript for singer-songwriter Don McLean’s iconic, 1971 hit. The auction house will offer McLean’s complete working manuscript and typed drafts, 16 pages in all, containing 237 lines of manuscript and 26 lines of typed text. Estimated at $1,000,000-1,500,000. Notes the catalogue: “In the span of just six verses, McLean managed to depict with poetic authority the turbulent upheavals of the latter half of the twentieth century. In doing so, he created an emblem that stands alongside the work of post-war figures such as Andy Warhol, J.D. Salinger and Bob Dylan in its importance to the American cultural canon.” For more information, visit christies.com.
Courtesy of Christie’s.
Doyle New York
The second of three sales to disburse the rare books of New York City’s Bar Association will be held on April 15 at Doyle New York. This selection favors material from the era of the American Civil War, including numerous rare southern imprints, although a large group of historical New York materials will also be offered. Two highlights of interest: Acts passed at a Congress of the United States of America (1790), estimated at $7,000-10,000, and The Constitution of the State of Texas, as Amended in 1861 (1861), estimated at $1,000-1,500. Elsewhere in the sale is a collection of books on the theater from the Estate of William W. Appleton, and early Central Park reports. For more information, visit doylenewyork.com.
Courtesy of Doyle New York.
Heritage Auctions
Larry McMurtry’s collection of H. G. Wells goes under the hammer at Heritage Auctions on April 8. Highlights include a true first edition of The Time Machine and a first edition of The Invisible Man, signed by the author. Seen here is a first edition of Tales of Space and Time (London and New York: Harper & Brothers, 1900), inscribed by Wells to Henry James with an original drawing of Ugh-lomi, protagonist of “A Story of the Stone Age.” A significant association copy. Publisher’s tan cloth, stamped in gilt and brown. The estimate is $7,500 and up. For more information, visit ha.com.
Courtesy of Heritage Auctions.
Swann Galleries
Swann Galleries will host two auctions during Rare Book Week. The April 9 sale offers Early Printed Medical, Scientific & Travel Books, where highlights include a single leaf from the Gutenberg Bible and St. Bonaventura, Opuscula (Strassburg, 1495). Also of note is Petrus Lombardus, Sententiarum libri IV, manuscript in Latin on paper, Bohemia, 1463, estimated at $30,000-40,000. A second sale, held on April 14, offers Printed and Manuscript Americana, where highlights include an officer’s eyewitness description of Shay’s Rebellion, Massachusetts, 1787, and Ron Drummond’s The Art of Wave Riding (Hollywood, 1931). For more information, visit swanngalleries.com.
Courtesy of Swann Galleries.
