May 1, 2024 10:00 EST
Rare Books, Autographs & Maps
211
The first edition of the first Mary Poppins book
TRAVERS, P.[AMELA L.[YNDON]
Mary Poppins. London, Gerald Howe, 1934. First English edition. Publisher's yellow cloth in the gray dust jacket with illustrations in yellow after Mary Shepard. 7 3/8 x 4 3/4 inches (18.75 x 12.25 cm); xii, 206, [2] pp., pictorial endpapers and 27 line illustrations (13 full-page) by Mary Shepard. The dust jacket with the five shilling price, rubbing to the spine folds, small loss to the head of the spine affecting the author's last initial, small chip to the head of the front panel and slightly larger loss and edge crease to the rear panel, the front panel of the jacket now separated at the fold with the spine, the cloth with a few specks of foxing, internally clean, in all a remarkably nice copy in the excessively rare jacket, completely unrestored. The
This, the first of the Mary Poppins books by P. L. Travers, had at its source an earlier short story featuring a character of that name published in a New Zealand newspaper in 1926, which in turn may have been rooted in stories that Travers told her sisters as a child. The book was an almost immediate success, and the illustrations by Mary Shepard (the daughter of E. H. Shepard, the illustrator of Winnie-the-Pooh and Wind in the Willows) have an enduring charm. Travers was an accomplished figure. Born in Australia, she had worked as an actress in her youth (Pamela Lyndon Travers was her stage name—she was born Helen Lyndon Goff), was a disciple of G. I. Gurdjeff and a pupil of Carl Jung, and had a deep and abiding interest in myth and folklore. Her relationship with the Disney version of her book was equivocal; it made her wealthy, but she disliked the animated sequences and was ambivalent about the music.
Please note that the jacket has now separated at the front fold between spine and front panel.
TRAVERS, P.[AMELA L.[YNDON]
Mary Poppins. London, Gerald Howe, 1934. First English edition. Publisher's yellow cloth in the gray dust jacket with illustrations in yellow after Mary Shepard. 7 3/8 x 4 3/4 inches (18.75 x 12.25 cm); xii, 206, [2] pp., pictorial endpapers and 27 line illustrations (13 full-page) by Mary Shepard. The dust jacket with the five shilling price, rubbing to the spine folds, small loss to the head of the spine affecting the author's last initial, small chip to the head of the front panel and slightly larger loss and edge crease to the rear panel, the front panel of the jacket now separated at the fold with the spine, the cloth with a few specks of foxing, internally clean, in all a remarkably nice copy in the excessively rare jacket, completely unrestored. The
This, the first of the Mary Poppins books by P. L. Travers, had at its source an earlier short story featuring a character of that name published in a New Zealand newspaper in 1926, which in turn may have been rooted in stories that Travers told her sisters as a child. The book was an almost immediate success, and the illustrations by Mary Shepard (the daughter of E. H. Shepard, the illustrator of Winnie-the-Pooh and Wind in the Willows) have an enduring charm. Travers was an accomplished figure. Born in Australia, she had worked as an actress in her youth (Pamela Lyndon Travers was her stage name—she was born Helen Lyndon Goff), was a disciple of G. I. Gurdjeff and a pupil of Carl Jung, and had a deep and abiding interest in myth and folklore. Her relationship with the Disney version of her book was equivocal; it made her wealthy, but she disliked the animated sequences and was ambivalent about the music.
Please note that the jacket has now separated at the front fold between spine and front panel.
Auction: Rare Books, Autographs & Maps, May 1, 2024
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Auction of Rare Books, Autographs & Maps on May 1, 2024 Totals $1.2 Million
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A Medieval Manuscript Rules of St. Augustine Achieves $102k
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Consignments Are Currently Being Accepted for Future Auctions
NEW YORK, NY -- Competitive bidding at Doyle’s May 1, 2024 auction of Rare Books, Autographs & Maps drove strong prices and a sale total that topped $1.2 million, surpassing expectations.
Featured in the sale was a fascinating selection of early manuscripts that achieved exceptional results. Highlighting the group was a 14th century manuscript of the Rules of St. Augustine from an English priory that soared over its $8,000-12,000 estimate to realize a stunning $102,100. The Rule of St. Augustine is among the earliest of all monastic rules, created about 400, and it was an influence on all that succeeded it. Other notable results included a 14th century Etymologiae of St. Isidore estimated at $5,000-8,000 that achieved $51,200 and a 15th century Prayer Book of Jehan Bernachier estimated at $10,000-15,000 that sold for $28,800.
A first edition of John James Audubon's octavo Birds of America sold for $41,600, far over its $25,000-35,000 estimate. Published in 1840-1844 in seven volumes, the first octavo edition was the final Birds of America publication overseen by Audubon in his lifetime.
The Fred Rotondaro Collection offered rare books and manuscripts on a range of subjects touching the African American experience in the United States over three centuries. A first edition copy of Frederick Douglass’ 1876 speech at the unveiling of the Freedman's Monument in Washington realized $12,800, far exceeding its $3,000-5,000 estimate. A first edition of the first issue of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin from 1852 also achieved $12,800.
Highlighting the range of offerings from the Ken Harte Collection of Natural History was a first edition Richard Bowdler Sharpe’s beautifully illustrated monograph of Kingfishers, 1868-71, that sold for $14,080, doubling its $6,000-8,000 estimate. It was accompanied by an inscribed copy of the rare unfinished chapter on the anatomy of the kingfisher by James Murie.
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, Edward Ripley-Duggan at ext 234, or Noah Goldrach at ext 226, or email Books@Doyle.com
