Books & Periodicals

Finely bound sets featured in the high spots ofa third Sotheby’s New York (25/20/12.5% buyer’s premium) sale of modern literature from the Maurice Neville library held on April 25.

Artwork produced for the much-loved ‘Ladybird’ books by the late John Berry (1920-2009) were offered by Tennants (18.5% buyer’s premium) on April 28.

Containing over 150pp of notes and fragmentary drafts for two of her novels and a play, an autograph notebook used by Agatha Christie while in Baghdad around 1948 – perhaps while travelling with her husband, the archaeologist Max Mallowan – sold for $15,000 (£11,625) in a Swann Auction Galleries (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) sale of May 4.

Coming up in early June are the two stalwart fairs of the London antiquarian book trade: 'The London International Antiquarian Book Fair', hosted by the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association (ABA), and 'The London International Premier Fair', hosted by the Provincial Booksellers Fairs Association (PBFA).

We are sad to announce that Roy Davids, formerly head of Sotheby’s book department, died aged 74 on April 30 after a long illness.

Despite being one of the best-known American artists of the 20th century, relatively little information exists on the early years of Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009) when he began to emerge as a prominent force in the art world.

Frank Herrmann, writer, publisher and auctioneer, died at his home in Essex on April 30, a month short of his 90th birthday, following a long battle with illness.

Following the publication in 1632 of his Dialogo…, Galileo found himself hauled before the Inquisition and tried for his heretical views.

Books from the library of neurologist Dr MacDonald Critchley sold as part of an April 20-21 auction held by Charterhouse (19.5% buyer’s premium) naturally included books related to his professional interests, among them copies of his own works. But the lot that attracted most bidding interest was a novel by HG Wells.

One of 170 complete copies of the privately printed Cranwell edition of the 'Seven Pillars of Wisdom, A Triumph', 1926, by TE Lawrence (better known as Lawrence of Arabia) leads the Swann Galleries sale on May 16 in New York.

Ernest Hemingway and F Scott Fitzgerald were among the financial big-hitters when a third part of the extensive Maurice F Neville collection of modern literature was sold by Sotheby’s New York (25/20/12.5% buyer’s premium) on April 24.

“We were somewhere around Barstow when the drugs began to take hold” are the opening words of Hunter S Thompson’s notorious and loosely autobiographical novel Fear and Loathing Las Vegas…

Sold for £6000 in a Forum Auctions (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) sale of March 30 was a copy of one of the earliest books on swimming.

Reversing the usual pattern where it is an author’s first book that makes the big money, it is the last of the 38 books featuring Richmal Crompton’s most famous children’s book creation that has for many years been one of the most expensive purchases for collectors.

Best round scores in the most recent PBA Galleries (20/15% buyer’s premium) golfing sale came with the appearance of a group of the papers of golfing historian and collector CB Clapcott.

Compiled by J Wells Kelly and published in San Francisco in 1862, a rare copy of the First Directory of Nevada Territory…, which was worn, dry and splitting but in original, leather-backed printed boards, sold for $6500 (£5080) in a PBA Galleries sale of April 20.

The antiquarian book trade has lost two well-known faces with the deaths of Frank Herrmann and Roy Davids.