May 1, 2024 10:00 EST
Rare Books, Autographs & Maps
252
The Emancipation Proclamation in a fine set of War Department Orders
Estate / Collection: Property from the Rotondaro Collection
[EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION]
A set of War Department General Orders, 1862-1863, including the Emancipation Proclamation. Washington: January 1862-December 1863. Three volumes especially bound for Captain John H[orne] Young of the 15th United States Infantry in full pebbled morocco with cover decoration in gilt and lettering in blind, the edges stained red, housed in three morocco backed cases. 7 x 4 1/2 inches (18 x 11.5 cm); The first volume comprises the General Orders of the War Department, Adjutant General’s Office, Numbers 1-217, 6 January 1862 to 30 December 1862, all printed except number 20 which is in contemporary manuscript, one folding table, at front is the Index of General Orders, Washington: GPO, 1863. General title page, 99 pp. The following two volumes comprise General Orders of the War Department, Adjutant General’s Office, Numbers 1-400, 2 January 1863 to 28 December 1863, all printed, one folding table, with a few Special Orders or Circulars at the end, a few of these in manuscript, at front is the Index of General Orders, Washington: GPO, 1863. General title page, 16 pp. The first volume with much annotation in ink, some with ink signatures of Asst. Adjutant General E.D. Townsend, many in the 1863 series docketed at Nashville in that year, some with tri-hole punches at gutter, a few trimmed within docketing, labels removed from pastedowns, some light thumbsoiling but the text very clean overall; the first volume rebacked to match.
Provenance: The front free endpapers with faint pencil inscriptions to Captain Young from Wm. A. Webb (?); Captain John Horne Young (name stamped to covers and a few pencil signatures of Young or a family member within); sold Christie's New York 15 December 2005, lot 33.
A rare complete collection of the original War Department General Orders of 1862-63, including the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation (General Order No. 139, September 22, 1862) and the official Emancipation Proclamation issued as General Order No. 1 on 2 January 1863. According to Eberstadt, the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation is the fourth printing overall and the first issued to the military and the Emancipation Proclamation is the fifth edition overall. President Lincoln waited until the Union had repelled the Confederates at Antietam to issue the preliminary proclamation which took effect on the first day of 1863. The proclamation is noted for its direct and decisive language:
"By the President of the United States of America ... That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom."
This order certainly would have been seen as a critical moment in the war the generals and captains who received the order. Beyond the Emancipation Proclamation, these volumes provide a fascinating glimpse into the day-to-day of those soldiers, generals and captains such as John H. Young of the 15th Regiment. The bindings, annotations, docketing from Tennessee, and manuscript copies within these volumes render them a powerful artifact of the Civil War.
Eberstadt 12; Grolier Club, One Hundred Influential American Books, 71; Streeter 1751.
Sold for $8,960
Estimated at $5,000 - $8,000
Includes Buyer's Premium
Estate / Collection: Property from the Rotondaro Collection
[EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION]
A set of War Department General Orders, 1862-1863, including the Emancipation Proclamation. Washington: January 1862-December 1863. Three volumes especially bound for Captain John H[orne] Young of the 15th United States Infantry in full pebbled morocco with cover decoration in gilt and lettering in blind, the edges stained red, housed in three morocco backed cases. 7 x 4 1/2 inches (18 x 11.5 cm); The first volume comprises the General Orders of the War Department, Adjutant General’s Office, Numbers 1-217, 6 January 1862 to 30 December 1862, all printed except number 20 which is in contemporary manuscript, one folding table, at front is the Index of General Orders, Washington: GPO, 1863. General title page, 99 pp. The following two volumes comprise General Orders of the War Department, Adjutant General’s Office, Numbers 1-400, 2 January 1863 to 28 December 1863, all printed, one folding table, with a few Special Orders or Circulars at the end, a few of these in manuscript, at front is the Index of General Orders, Washington: GPO, 1863. General title page, 16 pp. The first volume with much annotation in ink, some with ink signatures of Asst. Adjutant General E.D. Townsend, many in the 1863 series docketed at Nashville in that year, some with tri-hole punches at gutter, a few trimmed within docketing, labels removed from pastedowns, some light thumbsoiling but the text very clean overall; the first volume rebacked to match.
Provenance: The front free endpapers with faint pencil inscriptions to Captain Young from Wm. A. Webb (?); Captain John Horne Young (name stamped to covers and a few pencil signatures of Young or a family member within); sold Christie's New York 15 December 2005, lot 33.
A rare complete collection of the original War Department General Orders of 1862-63, including the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation (General Order No. 139, September 22, 1862) and the official Emancipation Proclamation issued as General Order No. 1 on 2 January 1863. According to Eberstadt, the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation is the fourth printing overall and the first issued to the military and the Emancipation Proclamation is the fifth edition overall. President Lincoln waited until the Union had repelled the Confederates at Antietam to issue the preliminary proclamation which took effect on the first day of 1863. The proclamation is noted for its direct and decisive language:
"By the President of the United States of America ... That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom."
This order certainly would have been seen as a critical moment in the war the generals and captains who received the order. Beyond the Emancipation Proclamation, these volumes provide a fascinating glimpse into the day-to-day of those soldiers, generals and captains such as John H. Young of the 15th Regiment. The bindings, annotations, docketing from Tennessee, and manuscript copies within these volumes render them a powerful artifact of the Civil War.
Eberstadt 12; Grolier Club, One Hundred Influential American Books, 71; Streeter 1751.
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.
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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
