International interest in specialist book sale
May 2023
There was a distinctly Indian flavour to Greenslade Taylor Hunt’s recent book sale, thanks in large part to an impressive single-owner collection that had been assembled by several generations of the same family.
Leading the field was a first edition copy of Lieut.-Colonel James Tod’s ‘Annals and Antiquities of Rajast’han’ (1829-32) which sold for £1,100, having drawn international bidding via the internet and telephones.
The same author’s ‘Travels in Western India’ (1839) fetched £600, while a leather-bound copy of Lieutenant Henry Pottinger’s ‘Travels in Beloochistan and Sinde’, with a beautifully hand-coloured frontispiece, was bid to £650.
Much interest was also shown in Charles MacFarlane’s study of ‘Constantinople in 1828’, which realised £400.
In other sections of the well-ordered sale a ‘breeches’ Bible (so-called in reference to the term used to translate Genesis, Chapter 3, Verse 7), dating to 1601, went for £500 after strong on-line bidding.
An early reprint of J.R.R. Tolkien’s ever-popular Lord of the Rings trilogy, despite wear to the dustjackets, also excelled at £950.
The sale closed with a selection of documents, including a manuscript diary of a ten- week tour of France and Switzerland in 1802, which was bought for £650, and a charming illustrated letter recounting events around Simons Bay during the Anglo-Zulu War, in 1878, which was pushed to £700.
A pair of hand-painted cast metal and polished oak bookends, modelled as Henry VIII and Elizabeth I and made from materials salvaged from the Houses of Parliament following enemy action in 1941, also generated feverish competition before the hammer finally fell at £280.
Entries are already being accepted for the next specialist Book Sale, in the autumn, but there will also be a good selection of books, including local history, in the forthcoming Collector’s Sale, on Thursday, June 1.
For more information please contact the saleroom on 01823 332525.
Leading the field was a first edition copy of Lieut.-Colonel James Tod’s ‘Annals and Antiquities of Rajast’han’ (1829-32) which sold for £1,100, having drawn international bidding via the internet and telephones.
The same author’s ‘Travels in Western India’ (1839) fetched £600, while a leather-bound copy of Lieutenant Henry Pottinger’s ‘Travels in Beloochistan and Sinde’, with a beautifully hand-coloured frontispiece, was bid to £650.
Much interest was also shown in Charles MacFarlane’s study of ‘Constantinople in 1828’, which realised £400.
In other sections of the well-ordered sale a ‘breeches’ Bible (so-called in reference to the term used to translate Genesis, Chapter 3, Verse 7), dating to 1601, went for £500 after strong on-line bidding.
An early reprint of J.R.R. Tolkien’s ever-popular Lord of the Rings trilogy, despite wear to the dustjackets, also excelled at £950.
The sale closed with a selection of documents, including a manuscript diary of a ten- week tour of France and Switzerland in 1802, which was bought for £650, and a charming illustrated letter recounting events around Simons Bay during the Anglo-Zulu War, in 1878, which was pushed to £700.
A pair of hand-painted cast metal and polished oak bookends, modelled as Henry VIII and Elizabeth I and made from materials salvaged from the Houses of Parliament following enemy action in 1941, also generated feverish competition before the hammer finally fell at £280.
Entries are already being accepted for the next specialist Book Sale, in the autumn, but there will also be a good selection of books, including local history, in the forthcoming Collector’s Sale, on Thursday, June 1.
For more information please contact the saleroom on 01823 332525.