Apr 16, 2026 10:00 EST
Rare Books, Autographs & Maps
24
Cicero's letters in a contemporary binding with manuscript waste
Property sold to benefit Albertus Magnus High School
CICERO
In M. Tullii Ciceronis familiarum epistolarum commentarii. Venice: Ioannes Gryphius, 1583. Contemporary limp recycled parchment with manuscript waste sewing guards, 11 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches (29.25 x 21.5 cm). Collation: 2º: *4A–2H8I10. Binding worn and rather grubby, with the covers lifting away from the spine at the hinges, giving a nice look at the binding waste within. Some manuscript notes to the lower cover, probably from the parchment's previous life before its use as a bookbinding. Internally foxed throughout and thumbsoiled with some contemporary marginalia and doodling. Some eighteenth and nineteenth century manuscript and printed fragments laid in.
Sold for $512
Estimated at $400 - $600
Includes Buyer's Premium
Property sold to benefit Albertus Magnus High School
CICERO
In M. Tullii Ciceronis familiarum epistolarum commentarii. Venice: Ioannes Gryphius, 1583. Contemporary limp recycled parchment with manuscript waste sewing guards, 11 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches (29.25 x 21.5 cm). Collation: 2º: *4A–2H8I10. Binding worn and rather grubby, with the covers lifting away from the spine at the hinges, giving a nice look at the binding waste within. Some manuscript notes to the lower cover, probably from the parchment's previous life before its use as a bookbinding. Internally foxed throughout and thumbsoiled with some contemporary marginalia and doodling. Some eighteenth and nineteenth century manuscript and printed fragments laid in.
Auction: Rare Books, Autographs & Maps, Apr 16, 2026
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Successful Auction of Rare Books, Autographs & Maps on April 16, 2026 Surpasses Expectations
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Thomas Jefferson Letter Commenting on Toussaint Louverture Achieves $32,000
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Consignments Are Currently Being Accepted for Future Auctions
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We Invite You to Contact Us for Complimentary Auction Estimates of Your Collection
NEW YORK, NY – Doyle's auction of Rare Books, Autographs & Maps on April 16, 2026 saw international competition drive strong results throughout the sale and a total that surpassed expectations.
Thomas Jefferson Letter on Toussaint Louverture
Highlighting the sale was a fascinating 1802 letter from Thomas Jefferson as president to Maryland Governor John Francis Mercer that achieved a strong $32,000. The remarkable letter captures a rare, candid moment in which Jefferson assesses, with striking clarity, the arrest of Toussaint Louverture, a leader of the Haitian Revolution, by French General Charles LeClerc, Napoleon’s brother-in-law. Jefferson perceptively warned that LeClerc’s actions would erode trust and likely spark further racial conflict—an insight that proved remarkably accurate. Beyond its sharp political foresight, the letter reflects the broader anxiety the Haitian Revolution provoked in the United States, which contributed to decades of diplomatic isolation of Haiti.
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Consignments are currently being accepted for future auctions. We invite you to contact us for complimentary auction estimates. Our Specialists are always available to discuss the sale of a single item or an entire collection.
