Bloomsbury’s summer sale of Books, Manuscripts, Prints & Original Artwork on 9th July, caters for all interests and all pockets.
Amongst the English manuscripts are fascinating letters as well travelogues; lot 59 for example is a charming manuscript of 1849 with ‘naive’ pen and ink sketches of a husband and wife’s journey around the English lakes and Scottish lochs (estimate £200-300). A good set of 18 original pen over watercolour illustrations of Dickens characters (lot 143) is expected to fetch £600-800.
Nelson material is always in demand and this sale has a letter signed Nelson & Bronte to the Commissioner of Malta, in which they discuss the strength of cable (lot 49) and this has an of estimate £600-800. Of particular interest is a collection of letters by and mostly relating to William and May Morris (lot 81). In one of the letters he enquires after his eldest daughter on hearing that she had had another epileptic seizure; there is also correspondence mentioning the philosopher and playwright Bernard Shaw, with whom May had a romantic attachment in 1890 (estimate £1000-1500).
There are two completely different Middle Eastern items on offer; one particularly interesting album of watercolours of Middle and Far Eastern Views dating from the turn of the last century (lot133) is estimated at £400-600 while an excellent set of the very rare hand coloured Malerische Ansichten Aus dem Orient… by Heinrich von Mayr (lot 336) in ten original parts, carries an estimate of £4000-6000.
A near fine copy of East of the Sun and West of the Moon by Kay Nielsen (lot 150) in wonderful condition and number 85 of 500 copies is a highlight of the sale (estimate £8000-12000). There are several books with Arthur Rackham illustrations such as lot 152 Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, number 473 of 1130, signed by the artist and with an initialled and dated original ink sketch of the Mock Turtle and Gryphon (estimate £4000-6000). The other outstanding pen and ink sketch signed by Rackham (lot 154), is Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with an original sketch of Titania waking from her sleep and gazing upon Bottom with his donkey’s head. This expected to fetch £6000-8000. Another original signed and dated watercolour by Rackham on the half title of Edgar Allan Poe’s Tales of Mystery & Imagination, number 335 of 460 has a full page illustration of a terrified man with his hair standing on end, seated reading a book while two ghosts look over his shoulder. This is estimated £10000-15000 (lot 176). Another highlight must be the limited edition of The Whole Works of Homer, number 2 of 10 copies on vellum translated by George Chapman and published by the Shakespeare Head Press, 1930-31 (estimate £10000-15000).
Demonstrating that some things never change, the unpublished draft, autograph letter from Isaac Newton (lot 284)shows him endeavouring to get a position for his nephew Benjamin Smith, ‘ being an undergraduate & and not yet capable of the Living…’ (estimate £6000-8000).
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