Nov 7, 2023 10:00 EST
Rare Books, Autographs & Maps including the Esmond Bradley Martin Collection
17
Signed by a character in The Crucible
Estate / Collection: The Victor Gulotta Collection
DANFORTH, THOMAS as deputy governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony and DANIEL GOOKIN
Legal document signed. Near Watertown: 19 April 1686. A manuscript document on the recto and verso of a rectangular sheet, the recto and half of the verso offering a copy of a document relating to the estate of William Knox written in the hand of Samuel Stearns as Marshall’s Deputy, the verso with Gookin’s attestation signed “Daniel Gookin” and Danforth’s “also before me Tho: Danforth Dept. Govr.” 4 ¾ x 7 ½ inches (11 x 17 cm); framed with a pane revealing the other side. Folds, losses to two corners affecting text, spotting, not removed from frame.
Thomas Danforth (circa 1623-1699) served as Deputy Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony from 1679 to 1686. Earlier, in 1675 during King Philip’s War, Danforth is associated with Daniel Gookin (1612-1687) and the Reverend John Eliot in his support of Christianized “Praying Indians” then being heavily persecuted by colonists. Daniel Gookin had originally settled in Virginia in the early 1640s and became close with Puritan ministers from New England sent south at the request of Virginia authorities at a time when ministers were in short supply. The New England ministers were given a cold reception in Virginia by Governor Berkeley and Gookin decided to join them when they left for Massachusetts in 1644. At Roxbury, Gookin befriended the Reverend John Eliot known as the "Apostle to the Indians." Gookin petitioned on behalf of the Native Americans alongside Eliot and wrote quite eloquently about them in his two books on the subject. In 1649, Gookin was chosen as Deputy from Cambridge to the General Court held in Boston and held the post for nearly 35 years including at the time of this document. His signature is scarce and desirable for his association with Eliot.
Despite being a leading figure in the colony and a magistrate, Danforth did not sit on the Court of Oyer and Terminer during the Salem Witch Trials. He was the Acting Governor at the time the hysteria commenced but was removed in May upon the arrival of Sir William Phips, the first royal governor under the new charter of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. It is possible that Danforth was excluded for not accepting spectral evidence as valid as required by Chief Judge William Stoughton and it was said that Danforth was one of "several about the Bay, men for understanding, judgment and piety ... that do utterly condemn the said proceedings, and do freely deliver their judgment..." Upon the removal of spectral evidence as admissible by Governor Phips, Danforth served on the court that ended the trials quickly and ordered no executions. It is also recorded that Danforth was sympathetic to the accused and helped relocate several to his lands west of Boston. Danforth is depicted in Arthur Miller’s 1953 play about the trials, The Crucible.
Sold for $945
Estimated at $1,000 - $1,500
Includes Buyer's Premium
Estate / Collection: The Victor Gulotta Collection
DANFORTH, THOMAS as deputy governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony and DANIEL GOOKIN
Legal document signed. Near Watertown: 19 April 1686. A manuscript document on the recto and verso of a rectangular sheet, the recto and half of the verso offering a copy of a document relating to the estate of William Knox written in the hand of Samuel Stearns as Marshall’s Deputy, the verso with Gookin’s attestation signed “Daniel Gookin” and Danforth’s “also before me Tho: Danforth Dept. Govr.” 4 ¾ x 7 ½ inches (11 x 17 cm); framed with a pane revealing the other side. Folds, losses to two corners affecting text, spotting, not removed from frame.
Thomas Danforth (circa 1623-1699) served as Deputy Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony from 1679 to 1686. Earlier, in 1675 during King Philip’s War, Danforth is associated with Daniel Gookin (1612-1687) and the Reverend John Eliot in his support of Christianized “Praying Indians” then being heavily persecuted by colonists. Daniel Gookin had originally settled in Virginia in the early 1640s and became close with Puritan ministers from New England sent south at the request of Virginia authorities at a time when ministers were in short supply. The New England ministers were given a cold reception in Virginia by Governor Berkeley and Gookin decided to join them when they left for Massachusetts in 1644. At Roxbury, Gookin befriended the Reverend John Eliot known as the "Apostle to the Indians." Gookin petitioned on behalf of the Native Americans alongside Eliot and wrote quite eloquently about them in his two books on the subject. In 1649, Gookin was chosen as Deputy from Cambridge to the General Court held in Boston and held the post for nearly 35 years including at the time of this document. His signature is scarce and desirable for his association with Eliot.
Despite being a leading figure in the colony and a magistrate, Danforth did not sit on the Court of Oyer and Terminer during the Salem Witch Trials. He was the Acting Governor at the time the hysteria commenced but was removed in May upon the arrival of Sir William Phips, the first royal governor under the new charter of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. It is possible that Danforth was excluded for not accepting spectral evidence as valid as required by Chief Judge William Stoughton and it was said that Danforth was one of "several about the Bay, men for understanding, judgment and piety ... that do utterly condemn the said proceedings, and do freely deliver their judgment..." Upon the removal of spectral evidence as admissible by Governor Phips, Danforth served on the court that ended the trials quickly and ordered no executions. It is also recorded that Danforth was sympathetic to the accused and helped relocate several to his lands west of Boston. Danforth is depicted in Arthur Miller’s 1953 play about the trials, The Crucible.
Provenance:
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Auction: Rare Books, Autographs & Maps including the Esmond Bradley Martin Collection, Nov 7, 2023
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Successful Auction of Rare Books, Autographs & Maps Tops $1 Million!
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November 7, 2023 Sale Featured the Esmond Bradley Martin Collection of Africana & Travel
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Consignments Are Currently Being Accepted for Future Auctions
NEW YORK, NY -- Doyle's successful auction of Rare Books, Autographs & Maps on November 7, 2023 topped $1 million amid competitive international bidding. Offerings in this popular sale spanned early illuminated manuscripts to modern literary first editions.
The Esmond Bradley Martin Collection of Africana and Travel comprised fascinating material that attracted bidders from around the world. Highlighting the collection was a copy of the first Latin edition of the earliest published collection of voyages, including those of Columbus and Vespucci: the 1508 Milan Fracanzo da Montalboddo, which achieved a strong $239,400. The collection also featured a rare uncut copy of Livio Sanuto's 1588 atlas of Africa that doubled its estimate at $25,200, as well as a group of 19th and early 20th century material relating to Zanzibar that attracted intense competition, sending the lots soaring over expectations. (Read more about Esmond Bradley Martin below.)
Property of other owners was highlighted by a first edition of Charles Darwin’s groundbreaking scientific work, On the Origin of Species, 1859, which realized $94,500. This copy bore provenance of Charles Darwin's great-grandson Quentin Keynes, to the naturalist Richard Bayard Dominick, thence by descent to the consignor.
Robert Browning's first edition copy of John Keats’ poem, Endymion, 1818, sold for $37,800, many times its $7,000-10,000 estimate. The poem begins with the well-known verse, "A thing of beauty is a joy for ever."
The selection of livres des artistes featured François-Louis Schmied's Daphne in a major Art Deco binding by Pierre Legrain, 1924, one of 140 copies. The book tripled its $8,000-12,000 estimate, selling for $32,760.
Manuscripts in the sale were highlighted by a medieval manuscript on paper, Calculus temporum Ecclesiasticus, which sailed past its estimate of $3,000-5,000 to achieve an exceptional $31,500. This fascinating calendrical manuscript in Latin, circa 1360, possibly English in origin, was once the property of antiquary and collector Sir Thomas Phillipps (1792-1872).
100 years before the Revolution: from Plymouth Colony to the Salem Witch Trials - The Victor Gulotta Collection, offered a curated collection of 17th and 18th century manuscripts documenting life in colonial New England. Among the rarities were a 1691 document signed by two notorious Salem witch trials magistrates John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin that realized $5,670, a document from 1686/87 signed by Edmund Andros as Governor of the Dominion of New England that sold for $5,670, and a 1656 Boston court document relating to a divorce case that achieved $6,300, all three exceeding their estimates.
Esmond Bradley Martin
Esmond Bradley Martin (1941-2018) was educated as a geographer and philosopher. He and his wife Chryssee had an enduring fascination with Africa, and settled in Nairobi, Kenya, in the mid-1970s. He wrote extensively, oftentimes in conjunction with his wife, publishing works including Zanzibar. Tradition and Revolution, Hamish Hamilton, 1978; Cargoes of the east. The ports, trade, and culture of the Arabian Seas and western Indian Ocean, Elm Tree Press, 1978; and many other works on African history and conservation. In the late 1970s, he began extensive research into the illegal trade in elephant ivory and rhino horn, which included substantial stints incognito posing as a buyer of illicit wildlife products. For a while, he served as special envoy for rhino conservation for the United Nations. He continued this work until 2018 , when tragically he was stabbed to death in his Nairobi home
For about thirty years, beginning in the mid-1960s, Esmond Bradley Martin assiduously collected books and manuscripts on Africa and its history, acquiring a phenomenal collection of letters by many of the major English explorers of the nineteenth century, as well as numerous rarities from earlier centuries. He was buying at a time when troves of such material surfaced frequently at English auctions. Doyle was privileged to offer the first selection of his collection in the November 7 auction. A second and final portion will be offered early next year.
We Invite You to Auction!
Consignments are currently being accepted for future auctions. We invite you to contact us for a complimentary auction evaluation. Our Specialists are always available to discuss the sale of a single item or an entire collection.
For information, please contact Peter Costanzo at 212-427-4141, ext 248, or Edward Ripley-Duggan at ext. 234, or email Books@Doyle.com
